Faithful
by The Typhon Serpent
Summary: "This could ruin their friendship if he was caught. He knew that, but...there was something else he had to know..." A spin-off of "Eternal". How much longer can Mori hide his feelings when Honey moves in for a few weeks? HoneyxMori. Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

EDIT: Thanks to **ahha . interesting **for noticing my stupidity during the first upload. Formatting has been fixed and the chapter doesn't repeat now lol. /EDIT

IF THIS FIRST CHAPTER DOES NOT MAKE SENSE TO YOU, IT IS PROBABLY BECAUSE YOU HAVEN'T READ IT'S PREDECESSOR, "Eternal"

OK, now that that part's over with. For those who are tuning in for the second time: here it is, guys. The promised spin-off to "Eternal". I guess the pairing was pretty easy to guess all considered. I'll be posting more extensive author's notes in my LiveJournal in a second, but I do want to make one thing clear.

I am a college student, as has already been mentioned. My real life ALWAYS takes priority over FFN. In addition, this story is experimental just like "Eternal" was. But unlike "Eternal", it is an attempt to improve on things where as the last was an attempt to find areas of improvement. In other words, I'm going to get REALLY anal about the way it's written and updates WILL NOT be as frequent as with it's predecessor.

Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoy.

Music theme for chapter – "Into the Ocean" by Blue October

**CHAPTER 1**

'_How long has it been? A six months? We saw each other over the holidays … I might have kept up contact with him, but we've both been so busy … Liar, you just don't want to face him … Still, the dojo is isolated, the phone is expensive and he probably doesn't have time to go on the internet …"_

"Takashi-Kun?"

'_What am I doing here? I like my job … Strangely, I even like my apartment … but it still doesn't feel right … I don't think it was supposed to end up this way …'_

"Hey, Takashi-Kun!"

Mori's eyes opened. His head was rested on his arms that were folded on the steering wheel. He pulled himself out of his thoughts to face the man that had been talking to him.

"Hey, I know traffic patrol is boring, but don't fall asleep on me." The green-eyed man said with a grin.

Yukio Sasaki - Mori's ... partner for lack of a better word. The green-eyed man had made his attraction to Mori obvious from the day they met at the academy. A few months ago, he ended up at the same station as Mori and began courting him. The compliments sometimes took Mori's mind off of things, so he made no effort to stop it.

'_But it still doesn't feel right … it's like something's missing …'_

"Something on your mind, Takashi-Kun? You can talk to me about it."

He looked nothing like the man Mori really wanted. He came up to Mori's shoulder, his pale black hair (tinted so that it almost looked gray) fell just past his ears, wrapping around his jaw and framing his face whenever it began to droop.

'_I'm not sure you'd understand … and if you knew about Mitsukuni, you'd just get jealous, I know that much about you.'_

"It's nothing." Mori muttered quickly.

Just in time, the radio beeped and the voice of one of their coworkers came through. "Car number 721 calling number 908, requesting backup in a domestic violence situation. Do you copy?" he said.

Yukio picked up the mouthpiece to reply, leaving Mori to straighten his uniform and start the car.

His apartment was relatively large; one bedroom, one bathroom, a separate kitchen, and a rather big living room. Big enough to lay down a futon if he had any guests, and also big enough for a couch, armchair, coffee table, and TV.

After work, he sat at the desk in his room absentmindedly surfing the internet, stopping here and there when an article or even a video caught his interest. He couldn't help feeling there was something more productive he could be doing, but damned if he could remember what it was or, for that matter, motivate himself to do it.

That's right, you're supposed to check your email every so often …

_**SUBJECT: Reunion  
TO: "Haruhi Fujioka", "Hikaru Hitachiin", "Karou Hitachiin", "Mitsukuni Haninozuka", "Takashi Morinozuka"  
FROM: "Tamaki Suoh"  
Hi, guys **_** .**_** You're not going to believe this, but Kyoya graduates in a month! I'll just jump straight to the point: I think we should hold a Host Club reunion this summer. It's been almost a year and a half since we were all together, we couldn't even gather last Christmas because Mori and Honey were with their family and Hikaru and Haruhi were busy with their own thing. If everyone could get the time off, we could get together for a week or so and just catch up. Anyway, let me know when everyone can clear their schedules. And don't tell Kyoya, I want it to be a surprise.**_

Mori had to keep from groaning, he really didn't need anyone to remind him of last Christmas. It was the first he had seen of Honey in several months. Honey was friendly as ever, but Mori found himself occasionally avoiding his friend in order to still his beating heart. It grew worse when he accidentally walked in on the blond-haired man taking a shower. In the end, he was pretty sure he unintentionally hurt Honey's feelings.

_**SUBJECT: Re: Reunion  
TO: "Takashi Morinozuka"  
FROM: "Hikaru Hitachiin"  
Hey, Mori. You got the Boss' message, right? Haruhi and I are free the first couple weeks of June, just wondering if you knew of any good hotels since you live close to Minato. Don't want to stay too close to Keio U or "mother" will get suspicious, right? Write back when you get the chance. Can't believe Boss actually got into medical school …  
Oh, right, I was talking to Honey earlier today and he wanted to talk to you. You know his number, right? I attached my address book in case you don't. There's also a cute picture of Haruhi in our new place I thought you'd like. Hope to see you at the reunion, talk to you soon!**_

It was a good picture of Haruhi. She had started letting her hair grow out, it was just above her shoulders now and held back by a blue bandanna. The two had announced their relationship last summer. It came as much less of a shock as when the twins had revealed they were going to separate business schools. Hikaru ended up attending Tokyo U with Haruhi, and apparently, it made them grow closer. Now they had a home together while the two of them started their last year of college.

He closed the window without bothering with the rest of the messages. He'd write back to Tamaki after he ate, though he wasn't sure if he'd be able to find it in himself to call Honey. They'd see each other at the "reunion" anyway, right? Someplace where he'd easily be able to distract himself with other things.

Having no more business online, he shut off the computer and moved to the kitchen for dinner.

* * *

"Darrel?"

The most vivid blue eyes came into focus as the name of a long-lost lover left Mori's lips. The brunette boy smiled and stood on his toes in order to reach Mori's lips for a kiss. The black haired man all but melted into the kiss, bending down a little to make it easier for them to touch and wrapping his arms around the dead boy. So wonderful … he couldn't remember how long it was since he last held his former lover. The kiss was a declaration of love laced with desperate passion. Darrel returned the embrace, the two holding each other as close as possible without somehow fusing together.

For a second, he either sincerely thought or just willed himself to believe that the sound he heard was the clap of thunder until his hand touched something warm and wet on Darrel's back. He pulled away suddenly, his lifeless lover going limp in his arms, the blue eyes glazed over and no longer holding their former sparkle. Dropping the body in shock, he fell to his knees and stared and his trembling and now-blood-stained hands.

'_That's impossible … it wasn't supposed to end up this way!'_

"Takashi!" a familiar voice called. What was Honey doing here? Why was he running closer? Mori felt his heart skip a beat until he spotted the pitch-black figure out of the corner of his eye – the same culprit who had fired the gun.

"Mitsukuni, look out!" he called a moment too late. The shadowy figure sent a set of tendrils that struck Honey before the blond man even had time to scream. When Honey fell to the ground, Mori wanted desperately to run to his side and make sure he was still breathing, but the shadow was creeping closer to it's new victim.

So many times, Mori tried to find the identity of this man. "No witnesses." the police had said, "No real motive. Insufficient evidence. It's just another hate crime, nothing we can do. We're sorry for your loss." The words still echoed in his mind as the shadow lifted him by his neck, cutting off his breathing with an incredible grip.

'_Who are you? Why are you doing this to me? What did I do wrong?'_ He thought, trying to pry the hand from his neck in vain, _'I'm sorry. Whatever I did, I'm sorry, just leave me alone!'_

Green eyes … black hair … features started coming into focus … a smile and a face tainted with pure hatred and malice.

"Y-Yukio-Kun?"

The tendrils that struck Honey now caressed his face, latching on and covering the rest of his body to cut off all senses. He could no longer see or hear. All he felt was the shadow's cold grip around his throat.

'_I'm sorry … I'm so sorry …'_

A shrill ring reverberated against the darkness and jolted Mori from his sleep. 'Jolt' might not be an appropriate word, but for the silent-and-mysterious Mori, it was certainly not a calm awakening. Beads of sweat mixed with his hair and trickled down the back of his neck, matching the mood being broadcast by the rapid breathing and the pounding of his heart within his chest.

'_The phone's ringing …'_

Glance at the clock … 7:30 PM. He must have fallen asleep on the couch. With some effort, he sat up and took a few deep breaths to regain his cool before picking up his cell from the coffee table. He answered without checking the caller ID, and the familiar voice on the other end greeted before he got the chance to.

"_Takashi!"_

"Mitsukuni?" Mori voiced, blinking in confusion.

"_Yay, it is you! You aren't mad at me, are you? I'm so sorry, we had a lot of new students enroll last February and I haven't had time to keep up contact with everyone."_

Mori couldn't help but smile, able to perfectly picture Honey pouting as he spoke. The events of his dream were temporarily forgotten in favor of hearing from his old friend.

"_Well, we just finished the new course and the dojo's being closed for remodeling. Dad's taking care of almost everything else, so I don't have much to do."_ Honey continued, _"I got Tama-Chan's email and I was wondering if I could come stay with you for a little while. I haven't even seen your apartment, and I bet your uniform looks really cool! O-of course, if you're mad at me for not calling you, I understand, but I was hoping we were still friends."_

"You can stay here!" Mori blurted out before he could stop himself. Once again, he could picture Honey's facial expressions as the blond spoke, and the one thing he really hated was when his old friend cried.

"_Really, Takashi? Thanks!"_ Honey replied, the happiness the news brought him obvious in his voice, _"I can probably come on Saturday if that's not too soon."_

Saturday … tomorrow was Wednesday. He got out of work early on Friday – that would give him plenty of time to get things ready. "Saturday's good." The black-haired man said.

"_Thanks! I can't wait! I'll see you then!"_

Mori's smile returned, imagining Honey's excited face as he hung up the phone. The haunting images in his dream forgotten for now, Mori shuffled off to shower and get ready for tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

I made a Terry Pratchett reference. I can die happy now.

Dear god, Mori's being emotional in this. Sad Mori. Go cry, Emomori.

I don't own the "movie" scene. It's a scene in a book called "Hogfather". Unfortunately, they cut that scene short in the real film, which made me sad since it has to be one of my favorite parts.

And as with last time, Livejournal will have a couple notes. Not many, but I'll link to the music theme and some other stuff.

Music theme for chapter – "Greensleeves"; there's no singular artist but the arrangement I have in mind is called "Greensleeves to a Ground" and is played with a recorder and harp.

**CHAPTER 2**

The eraser of a pencil tapped Mori on the head a few times. "Hey, Takashi-Kun, don't doze off again." Yukio said.

"Sorry." Mori muttered, forcing his eyes to open a little wider. At the police station today, but it was slow. No patrol scheduled, all the cases were taken. Mori, Yukio, and a handful of other officers were basically sitting around waiting for something to happen. Mori found himself sitting at his desk with one elbow rested on the surface and his head against his hand.

"You OK? You look a little pale." Yukio asked, taking a seat next to his partner.

"Fine." Mori lied. Tuesday night, he had fretted over getting his apartment ready for Honey's visit. Wednesday night, he was plagued by another dream, but a significantly less frightening one where he and Honey were the only people involved. He preferred not to recall the events of his dream for fear of his body's reaction, but he was in need of a cold shower when he awoke in the morning. Now it was Thursday and he already wasn't sure if he'd be able to face his old friend on Saturday.

"Alright, if you say so." Yukio said skeptically, "I've tickets to a movie tonight, want to go? I think you could use the break."

Mori nodded with a subtle smile, anything to take his mind off of his recent dreams sounded wonderful. His green-eyed partner returned the smile, "Great! I get off sooner than you do, so I'll pick you up after work."

By the time evening rolled around, he was feeling significantly less tired. Yukio ended up taking him to a foreign film with a rather surreal plot. Honestly, Mori kept spacing out and ended up losing track of the movie. But the theater was mostly abandoned due to it being a weekday, so he was content with allowing his mind to wander. Just after what he assumed was an important battle scene, Yukio slid his hand over to rest on top of Mori's. The brown-eyed man was surprised at the sudden show of public affection, but didn't pull his hand away.

"Takashi-Kun, I was wondering something." Yukio said slowly, "Would you consider … going out with me?"

Mori tried not to let his surprise show, remaining silent. _'Dating? I never actually considered it after Darrel died … except with Mitsukuni, but he's not interested … I let Yukio flatter me but there's nothing I can really do to stop him anyway …'_

"There's someone else, isn't there?" Yukio said, taking Mori's silence as a rejection, "I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to assume."

"There's no one else." The brown-eyed man said, avoiding eye contact.

"Then what's the problem?"

'_There are a lot of problems…'_

"I'll … think about it." Mori decided aloud. _'What's it going to hurt? It's not like people are lining up at my doorstep … I don't believe Mitsukuni will ever return my feelings … I might as well consider it.'_

Yukio seemed to take that as an acceptable answer, though he still seemed a bit disappointed. His hand returned to it's place in his lap and, with nothing left to exchange between them, Mori occupied himself with actually watching the movie. Perhaps he would find a sign of what he should do.

He hadn't paid enough attention to the plot thus far. Two people on screen were talking, one was a woman and the other was what he could only assume was the grim reaper.

"I am nothing if not literal-minded." The reaper said, "Trickery with words is where humans live."

"All right, I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need fantasies to make life bearable." The woman mused.

"Really? As if it was some kind of pink pill? No. Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape."

"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little-"

"Yes, as practice. You have to start out learning to believe the little lies."

"So we can believe the big ones?"

"Yes. Justice. Mercy. Duty. That sort of thing."

"They're not the same at all!"

"You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet you act as if there is some ideal order in the world, as if there is some rightness in the universe by which it may be judged."

"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point-"

"My point exactly." The reaper said, pausing for a moment before he continued, "There is a place where two galaxies have been colliding for a million years. Don't try to tell me that's right."

"Yes, but people don't think about that."

"Correct. Stars explode, worlds collide, there's hardly anywhere in the universe where humans can live without being frozen or fried, and yet you believe that a bed is a normal thing. It's the most amazing talent."

"Talent?"

"Oh, yes, a very special kind of stupidity. You think the whole universe is inside your heads."

"You make us sound mad."

"No. You _need_ to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they _become_?"

* * *

Honey knocked on the apartment door. Third time he had tried now. He was _sure_ he had gotten the number correct. Was Mori mad at him after all? Maybe his old friend didn't recognize him. He hadn't grown more than a couple inches in the past couple years, he was as short as ever, but he had lost some of the fat in his cheeks and looked a bit older now.

He reached for the stuffed pink rabbit in his backpack. Maybe he would be more recognizable with Usa-Chan by his side. With a determined look, he reached to knock again when the door opened. Seeing the tall man on the other side, Honey could no longer hold back and threw himself into Mori's arms. "Takashi, it's great to see you!" he said, latching himself onto Mori's neck.

Mori briefly returned the hug before taking Honey's bags after the blond-haired man jumped out of his arms and started to explore the apartment.

"Your place is so big, Takashi!" Honey called from the kitchen before bouncing back to the living room with Mori, still carrying Usa-Chan with him. "It's great! I'm sure we'll have lots of fun! I promise I won't get in your way too much."

"You won't." Mori answered, earning a smile in return. Something about Mori's deep voice always made it nice to hear, or perhaps it was the fact that Honey didn't get to hear it very often due to Mori being naturally prone to silence.

Honey chatted up a storm, occasionally taking a glance at Mori while the tall man cooked. He was amazed at how well his old friend worked around a kitchen. The black-haired man diligently chopped carrots, fried chicken, and steamed rice while his blond friend rambled about subjects that the two must have discussed a dozen times over before. Mori didn't voice a single objection, even occasionally daring a subtle smile when Honey became particularly cheerful or enthusiastic.

After eating, a small argument occurred over sleeping arrangements, which ended with Honey insisting Mori sleep in his own bed while the blond took the futon in the living room. Somehow, though he had no problem with Mori catering to his whims, he couldn't stand the thought of taking away Mori's bedroom in his friend's own house. As he fell asleep, he silently prayed that Mori would be able to spend more time with him tomorrow.

Mori wasn't sure where he was, and in all frankness, he didn't really care. Something soft was beneath him – probably a bed. Eyes closed, Honey leaned over him and straddling his hips. The blond leaned closer until Mori could feel his breath against his lips. Both were panting heavily, either from excitement or arousal or a combination of the two. Finally, Honey spanned the gap between them for a kiss, starting out sweet and feather-light and slowly becoming more passionate. Mori's lips parted willingly – nay, wantingly – and Honey gladly granted the silent request and deepened the kiss.

At some point, Mori's shirt must have become unbuttoned, because he could feel one of Honey's hands slip behind his bare back. Wanting more contact, Mori blindly reached for the hem of his blond friend's shirt only to discover it wasn't there. Both breathing heavily into each other, the taller man instead moved to the button of his own pants. No sooner did he have the zipper undone than did his companion slip a hand inside and gently stroke the hardening length within.

The raven-haired man tensed at the intimate touch, though it was all he could do to keep himself from groaning or bucking into Honey's hand. His friend's still-busy mouth and tongue kept him from making too much noise, but when the mouth moved to pay more attention to his neck, Mori could no longer hide his moaning or heavy panting.

"Not tonight, Takashi-Kun."

It took him a moment to realize the person who spoke was not his old friend. When his eyes flew open, Yukio was the one leaning over him.

'_Impossible … I thought you were … no, you WERE Mitsukuni a second ago!'_

That spiteful smile appeared again. This time, Mori tried to escape but found his hands pinned above his head before he knew what was happening. With one of his hands restraining Mori's, the other closed around the brown-eyed man's neck just as Yukio's eyes became crazy and glazed over with malice.

Mori struggled and finally managed to free one of his hands only to discover Yukio's strength overpowered his own and he couldn't pry the hand from his throat.

"Yuki … wh …why?" he managed to choke, words cut off by his struggles to breathe.

"Trickery with words is where humans live." Yukio responded, his voice mockingly even but his grip remaining strong as ever.

'_What does that have to do with anything?'_

"Trickery … is where humans live." He repeated.

Another sudden jolt and Mori was awake. He was sweating profusely, even though it was freezing in his room. He could have sworn it was warm when he went to bed. He turned to the side and drew his knees closer to his chest, pulling the blanket tighter around him. Another shiver went through him. He blamed it on the dream. It was the second time he had the vision of Yukio strangling him, and it was getting harder to forget. He had until Monday to put it out of his mind, though. But he still had Sunday to spend with Honey. Something told him that the first half of his dream was going to be a little harder to shrug off.


	3. Chapter 3

OMG. Someone please yell at me the next time it's been almost a month since I updated X_x;. Or maybe I should be more responsible.

Is it spring yet? Snowed 8 inches last night and classes were canceled...

Music theme for chapter – "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" by Scissor Sisters

**CHAPTER 3**

Honey rubbed his eyes, awaking from a deep sleep to the sound of a cell phone ringing on the living room's end table. He habitually reached for it only to remember he was staying at Mori's apartment. He stopped himself from answering it, but not before accidentally reading the name on the caller ID.

Who was Yukio Sasaki?

Still a little groggy, he made his way to Mori's bedroom and peeked in. His old friend was still curled into a ball in the center of the bed, sleeping. Preferring not to disturb Mori, Honey returned to the living room and sat cross-legged on the futon. His eyes eventually wandered back to the cell phone. Then back to the blanket of the futon. Then back to the cell phone. Blanket. Cell phone. Blanket. Cell phone.

Curiosity got the better of him. He scooped the phone off the table and flipped it open to scroll through the contacts list until he reached the bottom. He could care less about this Yukio-person's actual contact information, but when he opened the contact, a picture from the phone's camera stared back at him.

… What an ugly guy.

Seriously, why would Mori want to associate with someone who obviously doesn't wash their hair often enough? And what sort of email address was that? _Hieifan21_? Wait, he was wearing a uniform. That would explain it. They know each other through work; in fact, Mori probably has no choice in keeping up contact with him.

Honey flipped the phone closed, letting out a breath of relief. Why was he relieved? Not like he felt threatened by this Yukio-person or anything.

He set the phone carefully back on the end table, hoping Mori wouldn't notice it had been moved. It wasn't his place to pry anyway. He had come hoping to patch things up, after last winter with their family, Honey was sure his old friend had made it clear that they should start growing apart. That was the last thing he wanted, though. He knew Mori would be happy becoming a police officer, so he didn't speak against it, but he had felt ridiculously lonely ever since they went their separate ways.

He rose and could have sworn he commanded his legs to take him to the bathroom until he found himself outside of Mori's bedroom again. Not that he made a habit of watching his friends sleep, but he couldn't recall seeing the black-haired man sleep that way before. He had the blanket wrapped tightly around him, only his head poked out at the top. He didn't snore, but his steady breathing was loud enough to hear.

An unexpected movement under the covers caused Honey to jump. Mori was starting to wake up! Not wanting to be caught acting like a stalker, the blond man bolted back to the living room and dove under the blankets of the futon. Holding his breath, he hid himself under the blanket and pretended to be asleep while listening to his taller companion's heavy footsteps as they crossed the living room, paused halfway through, and then continued through the open bathroom door. He didn't allow his breathing or heart rate to return to normal until the door shut and he heard the shower start. Even after he managed to even his breathing, he still felt like his heart was going to burst from his ribcage.

He sat upright and rubbed his eyes, pretending to have just awoken. Why he was pretending was a mystery even to him, since the only person he might be trying to fool was taking a shower.

Getting out of bed, he searched through his suitcase for a pair of light tan shorts and a t-shirt. He then rummaged through his backpack for a towel and a bag of toiletries. The beauty of having known Mori most of his life was that his old friend's quiet nature never really got in the way. Honey could usually tell what Mori was thinking by the expressions in his eyes, or could predict most of his actions simply based on what he knew of Mori's personality.

Today, for example, Honey knew Mori would have something special planned for them. What it was specifically still remained a mystery, but Mori had a bad habit of spoiling him. Not that Honey objected, mind you.

The blond camped outside the bathroom door until Mori re-emerged. The tall man returned, hair still wet from the shower, but fully dressed with a towel draped over his shoulders. His eyes widened at seeing Honey outside the door, making his surprise very obvious to anyone who knew him well enough. The blond moved towards the bathroom but his taller friend remained frozen in place before turning away quickly and rushing back to the bedroom. Honey didn't miss the awkwardness that was still hanging in the air, and it left him to draw only one conclusion: regardless of having invited him to stay, Mori really WAS mad at him for having neglected to keep up contact. Feeling his heart sink and with no idea as to why it made him feel as terrible as it did, he simply strode into the bathroom to get ready for the rest of the day.

* * *

Honey made the best of the time spent on the bus ride, but before long, he ran out of subjects to talk about. For the most part, he sat next to Mori with his hands folded in his lap, occasionally remembering a story he hadn't told his friend before. He didn't want to bore the taller man with his usual chit-chat for fear of making his friend even more irritated.

"The fair?" Honey looked up at Mori with a grin when they finally reached their destination, using every inch of his willpower to keep himself from running towards the nearest carousel or Ferris wheel. Mori replied with a very subtle smile, to which Honey jumped up and latched onto Mori's neck in an embrace of thanks. "Thank you, Takashi! You're the best!"

The awkwardness of that morning set aside for now, Honey returned to the ground and took the dark-haired man's hand in his to drag his friend into the crowd. They wandered for a while, Honey smiling and Mori patiently following his blond friend.

First stop: the animal house. Honey felt shorter than usual when he discovered that the bars to the goat pen reached just below his chest. However, he was not about to let that hold him back. Resisting the old habit of climbing onto Mori's back, he balanced on the lower bar of the pen in order to reach in and pet the goats. He also managed to laugh when one of the furry creatures decided to try chewing on Mori's sleeve.

Next stop: rides. He was as excited about adrenaline-rush rides as he was about tamer ones like the carousel and the Ferris wheel. The sudden jolt of energy he experienced when the roller coaster dipped or the gravitron reached it's highest speed was the best thing to forget what was on his mind between the two of them. In short: Honey found it ten times more therapeutic than any psychiatrist.

Lunch and a visit to the vendor's area before they could go on another ride. Souvenirs were too tacky, never mind the ridiculous price tag. Games at least gave you a few minutes of entertainment, and if you were lucky enough to win a prize, it was likely something that would last more than a couple days. Of course, not many people won at these games, but if there was anything Ouran Hosts liked to do, it was prove people who questioned their abilities wrong. Mori ended up with a stuffed rabbit and cat, both of which he gave to Honey, and one of which was returned to him. "So you can remember how much fun we had today!" Honey had said, passing along the white rabbit that was already named "Doki".

By the end of the evening, both had reached their limit, but Honey was obviously quicker to show it when he fell asleep on the bus ride home, the white kitten plushie (he had named it "Nabi") hugged firmly against him. Being the evening as well as a Sunday, the ride took longer than usual since the busses chose to cover more ground slower on the weekends. Mori failed to notice his friend had dozed off until he felt the blond-haired man's head rest against his shoulder. He sat still so as not to disturb his shorter friend, habitually keeping perfect posture regardless of being tired himself. So tired, in fact, that his vision was starting to blur. His own bed sounded so wonderful right now …

'_Sit up straight, you're starting to slouch again.'_

Their parents were never _strict_ per se, just a little overbearing. Even overbearing seemed too harsh a word … demanding? No. It was hard to describe. "Sit up straight", however, was something that was thoroughly pounded into Mori's subconscious by now. Even as an adult, he could hear his mother snapping "sit up straight". Even as his back ached and his head throbbed and he fought to stay awake, his spine remained as stiff as it was trained to be.

When the bus finally stopped in front of his apartment, he ignored the screaming objections of his muscles and carried Honey upstairs on his back with "Doki" tucked under one of his arms. It was a wonder that the shorter man didn't wake up when Mori had to hold him up awkwardly with one arm in order to unlock the apartment door. It had apparently been an exhausting day, though. Honey was still out like a light when Mori knelt down and gingerly set him on the futon, pulled the blanket over him, and made sure Usa-Chan was in ready reach in case he woke up in the middle of the night.

At this point, he was sure he should feel silly doting over Honey like this. _'We're both adults now, after all … He'll even go back to his own home after the reuinion.'_

He felt his heart sink at the prospect of Honey leaving him again. Today had been so much fun, being able to forget all his worries and just spend time with his friend.

'_And he's so cute when he sleeps …'_

Closed eyes … lean forward … his breathing is steady … his skin looks so soft …

'_Stop that! What the hell are you doing!'_

Feeling the heat creep up to his cheeks, Mori nearly fumbled in his haste to pull back, clasping a hand over his mouth.

'_You almost kissed him! What were you thinking!'_

"Sorry."

'_No, seriously, what the hell were you thinking?'_

"Sorry, I know. Sorry."

He pulled himself up. That's right … work tomorrow. As if walking on auto-pilot, he went to his own room. When he sat on the bed and leaned forward to remove his shoes, he was surprised to see a white ball of fluff fall onto his feet. He had forgotten he still had the stuffed rabbit stashed under his arm. He didn't want to bother changing his clothes - that was way too much effort right now. Picking up the rabbit and tossing it onto the pillow next to him, he toed off his shoes and made himself comfortable under the blankets before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Running …

Running …

Running … running …

Chest heaving … out of breath … can't keep running … have to keep running.

Eyes closed … can't look back … can't let it know you're scared … just keep running … running … running.

Cliff! Stop! Don't fall over!

What time is it? It's dark, he can't see a thing. All Mori knew was that he was supposed to be running from something. Something dangerous. There wasn't anywhere else to run, though. All he could do was catch his breath and pray it wasn't still chasing him.

Turn around …

'_You HAD to look, didn't you?'_

There it was; sharp teeth, glowing eyes, black fur, its feet pounding louder as it approached.

He thought about running again and stepped back only to remember the cliff, knocking a few pebbles over the edge as he narrowly avoided stepping too far. He could hear the creature's heavy breathing as it came closer, closing in on its prey.

'_Leave me alone …'_

He braced himself, squeezing his eyes shut just before it pounced.

'_I'm scared …'_

"Open your eyes, Takashi."

The weight against his chest sent the both of them tumbling over the edge when the creature tackled him.

"Open your eyes!"

'_I don't want to. Please don't make me.'_

He felt something cold and sharp against his neck. A sharp pain and a warm stream of blood when the blade pressed against his throat went past his skin.

"OPEN YOUR EYES!"

Still falling, he could feel the air rushing past them. There wasn't anything he could do to stop the creature, but it didn't make much effort to kill him, either, regardless of holding his life in its hands. The demanding voice he couldn't place. It wasn't the creature's, he somehow knew that. Nor was it Yukio's voice, at least, not this time.

"OPEN YOUR EYES BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!"


	4. Chapter 4

I am so mad at myself. Won't bore you with the details, I'll post the story in my Livejournal. Which is probably one of the better investments I've made in the world of Fanfiction. I'll also post the translated lyrics there, too.

Music theme for chapter – "Voyager" by Bump if Chicken (It's in Japanese, email or IM me if you want a translation)

**CHAPTER 4**

Honey awoke to the unpleasant sound of someone being rushed through their usual morning routine. Anyone other than Mori might have gotten a slap upside the head for having roused him from such a comfortable sleep in such an unorthodox manner, but lucky for the taller man, Honey knew Mori wouldn't be rushed unless it was important and wouldn't have purposely woken him up.

The blond slowly rose and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. It was actually a little entertaining to watch Mori run between the bathroom and the bedroom twice, still not noticing that his guest had woken up.

While Mori boarded himself up inside the bathroom for the third time, there was a knock at the door. Honey rose to answer, figuring his old friend probably didn't want to be interrupted right now. What greeted him on the other side of the doorway, however, was not the greatest start to his morning …

"Uh … is Takashi Morinozuka home?" the black-haired man asked, looking slightly puzzled.

"He's busy. He'll be out in a minute." Honey said, nearly barking the sentences. He may have been unintentionally glaring at the man, too, but he honestly didn't care.

"I see …" The man replied, clearly taken aback by the hostility. The green-eyed man tried leaning against the doorframe, perhaps to come off as more casual or perhaps because he was just lazy. "I'm Yukio Sasaki, by the way … nice to … meet you." He tried another friendly greeting, but trailed off when the dirty look remained unchanged on the blonde's face.

"I know." Honey retorted quickly.

Footsteps broke his concentration on scowling as Mori appeared behind him. "Not like you to run late, Takashi-Kun." Yukio said with a slight chuckle, seeing Mori with his shoes still untied, throwing on the last few pieces of his uniform.

Regardless of wanting to hit Yukio for having addressed Mori with such a casual honorific, Honey plastered on a fake smile and pounced on his old friend before the taller man had a chance to crouch down to tie his shoes.

"Have a good day at work, Takashi!" Honey sang, latching himself firmly onto Mori's neck and glancing over to make sure Yukio was watching.

Mori took a brief moment to return the hug, but looked up when Yukio spoke again. "Hey, Takashi-Kun, we really should go."

Mori stood and tried for his jacket, only to find Honey still affixed to him. Too used to his friend's clinginess by now, he patiently stood for the few seconds it took for the blonde to slide down and land back on the floor. Seeing the adorable pout that was given to him, Mori couldn't hide a smile and ruffled Honey's hair before taking his jacket from the coat hook and ducking out the door.

Regardless of Honey's puppy-face putting him in a good mood, the silence between him and Yukio quickly killed his happy high. By the time they arrived at the station, the silence that replaced their usual morning conversation had forced him to concentrate on nothing other than the splitting headache he had developed, only making the pain seem ten times worse. He all but fell into his desk chair after clocking in. The last thing he wanted to do was stare at a computer screen or fill out paperwork. He tried desperately to put pen to paper for a couple hours at least, pausing every so often to rub his eyes.

Glancing at the clock, he discovered it was only 11 AM. The day wasn't even half-over and he wanted to crawl back to bed already. Amidst the shrill ringing of telephones and the dull buzz of everyday office gossip, he just barely registered his name being called.

"Morinozuka? Hey, anyone home?"

He groggily looked up, making out the face of his supervisor.

"I'm sending Sasaki out to scope out the scene of an assault. We've got a couple guys there already, but I'd still like his partner there. Would you mind?"

'_Sure, anything to get out of this stuffy room.'_

Braving the humid outdoors, Mori left his desk and took his jacket to find Yukio already waiting outside for him. Something about him seemed different, though. The green-eyed man was far from his usual, talkative self. In fact, by the time the two strapped into the police car, the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife. If not for the headache-induced fog in his brain, Mori might have been more concerned. Unfortunately, he could barely concentrate on the task at hand, let alone what his friend was thinking.

When they reached an abandoned warehouse, Mori thought it odd that there were already four officers on the site of what was supposedly a simple assault. Three were examining a large area fenced off by caution tape, the fourth was talking with a woman off to the side, who was most likely either a witness or of some relation to the victim.

Mori mindlessly followed Yukio out of the car and towards the woman. He probably looked just as tough and intimidating as always, regardless of how much he was spacing out.

He barely managed to process a few sentences when Yukio took over the other officer's part of questioning the woman: "Yes, obviously a hate crime … no, sorry … I'm sorry miss, not much we can do without witnesses … I know he was your son, but … there's no evidence to prove … calm down …"

He still wasn't entirely sure what was going on, though he noticed Yukio moving towards the empty warehouse and began following. The damp air and the dirt floors weren't helping matters. He nearly jumped when his friend turned around and snapped a question at him.

"Who was the guy at your apartment?"

It took what seemed like several minutes to focus on the face that was glaring at him and another several minutes to realize what Yukio was talking about. "Mutsukuni?" he muttered, "He's my cousin. He's staying for a few days."

"If you already had someone, you could have just told me. I wouldn't have hounded after you, looking like an idiot."

"We're not …"

"Oh, please. It's as obvious as that dumb look on your face and it's starting to piss me off!"

'_Why are you shouting? I didn't do anything …'_

"You can't just tell me the truth? Is something going on?"

'_It's summer, why is it so cold in here? … My head is killing me …'_

"Stop staring at me like that! I know you can hear me!"

'_Not anymore …'_

"Takashi-Kun?"

'_I give up …'_

"Takashi-Kun!"

'_Goodnight.'_

* * *

Honey anxiously tapped at the armrest in the cab, having wasted no time in leaving the apartment the second one of Mori's workmates called. More specifically, Yukio had been the one to call, but the both of them silently agreed to put their tension aside in light of the situation.

"_He passed out while we were doing field work."_ Yukio had explained over the phone, _"I took him back to the station and got your number from his cell phone, figured since you're staying __with him it'd be your call. He's running a fever but I think he just over-exerted himself. You know how he can get. I think he'd be fine with a couple days of bed rest, though."_

Without much further conversation, Honey agreed to take a taxi to the police station and pick Mori up. When the yellow car finally reached the station, the blond all but leaped out and ran inside, spotting his black-haired rival just behind the desk.

"Oh, good, you're finally here." Yukio said, stepping away from the conversation he had been having with the desk worker.

"Yeah … where's Takashi?" Honey asked. No point in wasting time, neither of them wanted to be interacting with the other one and they were only working together for Mori's well-being.

"I put him in the break room, there's a couch back there."

With a very business-like walk, Honey allowed himself to be led to the break room. He broke his composure when he saw Mori, rushing to the dark-haired man's side.

"Jeez, he's boiling!" Honey snapped after running the back of his hand across the unconscious Mori's forehead. His head snapped around to glare at Yukio, "Why didn't you notice something? You were with him all day!"

"Hey, I was working! It's not my job to watch him every second of the day." Yukio snapped, jumping to his own defense.

"You're his partner; you're supposed to watch out for him!"

"You're his best friend, aren't you? You should know him better than I do."

"Well, you see him more often!"

"And whose fault is that?"

The blond opened his mouth to reply, only to realize the truth behind the words. He closed his mouth, eyes becoming fixated on the floor. It wasn't his fault - they had been avoiding each other since last Christmas. _'But I could have called him.'_ The thought crossed his mind, _'I could have made a better effort instead of just assuming he didn't want to talk to me.'_

"Ugh, whatever." Yukio sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and causing Honey to snap his head up and listen, "Look, I didn't call you here to argue with you, let's get him to the car and I'll give you a ride home. You get his head."

* * *

"Stop trying to get up!" a brunette boy snapped at his companion, shoving the taller boy backwards onto a bed, "If you don't rest, you'll never get better!"

His darker-haired companion sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the blankets for a moment after landing. "Go on, lay down. It's your own fault for taking off your coat yesterday. I told you I was warm enough, but no, you had to go all chivalry on me and now it's landed you with a cold." The brunette lectured.

The brown-eyed boy dressed in his pajamas smirked, earning an even more dramatic reaction from his friend. The brunette opened his mouth to speak again, but was cut off when a woman walked past the room, smiling at the commotion. "Good afternoon, Darrel. Good to see you." She said.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Morinozuka – er, Morinozuka-San." He replied, swiveling around to bow and quickly correcting himself on his Japanese.

She smiled understandingly, her black hair swaying as she nodded at the boys. "Were you planning to stay for dinner?"

"No thank you. I just came by to drop off Takashi's homework and found out he had gotten sick. I'll have to go home before dark."

"Sit up straight, Dear." The woman said to her son before turning back to Darrel, "Well, you're more than welcome. And you can use the phone call your family if you want to stay for dinner." She started walking towards the kitchen, turning back with a final call to them, "Stay out of trouble, boys."

Darrel waited until she was out of hearing range before snorting resentfully. He turned his attention back to Takashi, seeing he had instantly obeyed his mother's command. "Lay back down, you idiot." He said with a laugh, playfully pushing the boy back and pinning his shoulders onto the pillows, "Just because your Mom told you to doesn't mean you _have_ to."

Takashi smirked. Noticing the short distance between the two of them, he decided to span the gap between them for a quick kiss. "I love you, Darrel." He said quietly.

"Are you trying to spread the germs now?" Darrel responded with a chuckle, giving his boyfriend a light Eskimo kiss, "I love you, too, Takashi. But don't talk, you're throat's sore. Stay here and I'll get you some water."

* * *

Something cold ran itself across Mori's face before setting itself on his forehead. The feeling of the damp cloth was so blissful and the touch so gentle that he might have sworn he was still dreaming. He didn't want to open his eyes yet, he just wanted to figure out who was with him. His hand reached out and blindly searched for the person who had put the cloth on his forehead, coming in contact with one smaller and slightly smoother than his own.

He quickly regretted opening his eyes when the light in the room seemed to stab his brain a thousand times over. He managed to find and focus on the face of the hand's owner, though.

"You could have told me you were sick. We can have a day out anytime; I wouldn't expect us to spend time together when you should have been resting." Honey said quietly, causing Mori to look away with guilt.

"Sorry." Mori whispered. He gingerly sat up but still couldn't face his friend, keeping his eyes on the blanket of his bed.

"'Sorry'? You're _sorry_?" Honey snapped, standing up from the chair he was sitting in, "I don't know what your problem is! You avoided me when we were visiting the family last Christmas, I talked to your mother and she said you never call home, you've got that weird Yukio-guy you hang out with, you've made no effort to stay in contact with me, what's been going on! And who the hell is Darrel?"

Mori's eyes widened his head whipping up to look at his blond companion, whose light brown eyes continued to glare at him. "I … how-" He stammered, before Honey cut him off again.

"You said the name in your sleep. If he's someone special to you, I wish you'd tell me. I wouldn't mind."

"I … he …" Mori began stuttering again, now unable to tear his eyes from his friend's. If he wasn't sick, he might have sworn he saw a trace of sadness under Honey's glare, as if the man had been hurt somehow. "He's dead." The tall man finally confessed, "I'm sorry. It was just a dream. He was … my boyfriend … in middle school."

After the admission, Mori lowered his head again and closed his eyes, expecting some form of rejection. Feeling two smaller hands enclose his own, he had forgotten he had set his hand on top of Honey's, and felt his heart leap when his friend lifted it just high enough for the dark-eyed man to feel the warm lips brush across his skin as his friend spoke.

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up anything painful."

Mori looked up, setting the pain behind his expression aside when he saw the guilt in his friend's eyes.

"I was just curious, I'm sorry. I'll go … get you some dinner." Honey said before giving the hand a gentle kiss and standing to exit towards the kitchen.

Mori watched him leave, frozen in place for a moment, his had still suspended in midair after the blond had kissed it. When he finally snapped out of it, he lay back down in the bed, and realized he could feel the sheets against his bare back. Looking down at himself, he realized Honey must have undressed him while he was unconscious. But the realization _truly_ hit him when he discovered that he was wearing pajama pants rather than his uniform slacks, and he could feel the blood creeping towards his cheek while the thought dawned on him …

'_Mitzukuni saw me naked!'_


	5. Chapter 5

Nothing to really say here. New chapter was delayed a bit because I was out with bronchitis most of last week, which I announced in my live journal but I don't think anyone actually pays attention to that lol. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Music theme for chapter – "Poison" by Groove Coverage

**CHAPTER 5**

"Come _on_!" Honey shouted at the pot he was scrubbing. He had scorched the soup he attempted to make, leaving a black layer of grime on the bottom that was proving impossible to remove. After his failed attempt at making chicken-vegetable soup, he caved and ordered take-out. Mori was polite about it, but he was certain the fried rice and dumplings weren't good for someone with the flu.

Tomorrow, he'd start early and try and try until he got the recipe right. He decided that. There was no stopping him! Mori was going to get better. The taller man had opened his doors to Honey; the least the young martial artist could do was ensure he had a quick recovery.

'_Why did you kiss his hand?'_ a voice in his mind whispered, causing him to stop scrubbing for a second and stare into the soapy water, stuck on the question that had popped up.

'_I …. wanted to comfort him. He looked sad.'_ He answered himself before continuing his task.

Damn, that grime was burned on. He scrubbed a little faster, determined to put his busy mind to rest.

'_You don't have to kiss someone to comfort them. He would have been happy if you'd just apologized …'_

Wow, that voice was annoying.

'_And you're not going to admit to how you felt about finding out that he liked men …'_

"Shut up!" Honey snapped, throwing down the scrub brush back into the sink.

He spun around, glaring at the air and panting with rage, ready to destroy the nearest thing to him. That wouldn't work, as he realized, the only other person in the apartment was Mori, who was sound asleep. The other tenants in the building couldn't even hear him through the walls.

His eyes widened, tears forming at the corners and threatening to fall. There was nobody there. He was talking to himself.

He sank to the floor, wrapping his arms around his legs and hiding his face between his knees. His heart was beating so rapidly that it ached, he just wanted to rest for a moment. He could finish the dishes later, but for now he needed to rest and at least figure out how he was supposed to be feeling. He didn't know why his emotions chose to manifest themselves as physical pain.

He had never been so confused.

He gasped and jumped, hearing the phone ring. Not wanting it to wake his sick friend, he wiped his eyes as quickly as he could and ran to the living room to answer it.

"Ma-Morinozuka residence." he said, nearly choking as he forgot to clear his throat after coming so close to breaking down.

"_Oh, hello, Mitzukuni. Did I dial the right number?" _the female voice replied.

"Hi, Aunt Mine. This is Takashi's house. I'm staying with him right now."

"_Oh …"_

"He's sick right now, so I'm taking care of him."

"_Oh, that makes sense! Sorry, Dear, I sort of went off into my own mind there. Is he doing OK?"_

"I think he'll be OK if he stays in bed tonight and tomorrow. He seemed a lot better this evening than he did earlier."

"_Oh, good. I was actually calling because his grandmother is going to be visiting in a few days and I know she'll want to see him, so I was wondering if he'd be free for dinner later this week. You're welcome too, of course. I don't think you've ever met my mother."_

"No, I haven't. But I'm sure he'll be happy to go. I'll pass on the message."

"_Thank you, Mitzukuni. I'll see you then."_

"See you then, Aunt Mine. Bye."

He put the phone back on it's base, hand trembling all the while. He was surprised he was able to keep his composure as long as he did. He didn't even register it when he sat on the floor again, his eyes fixated on the carpet while his mind tried to sort things out on it's own.

He'd never had a girlfriend. Never been interested in having one. In the Host Club, it was part of his image to have no romantic interest in the women that visited them. The girls loved it, so he had assumed it was natural.

He took a shaky breath, hugging his knees to his chest again while he contemplated things.

He had never felt so confused.

He just knew … he _knew_ that the past few days with Mori were the happiest he'd been in months. He didn't want them to end.

He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Mori.

* * *

The next morning, Honey awoke early like he had promised himself. He ran to the store and bought a cookbook purely for the purpose of learning to cook and followed the directions precisely.

He ended up making toast for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, but he figured they could enjoy the soup he was attempting for dinner.

While he stirred the pot, the smell wafted into the air. He took a sip of the broth, which tasted fine to him. But the real judging would happen when Mori tasted it (the way Honey saw it, almost anything tasted good if you made it yourself). When it was done, he poured two bowls to bring to his friend's room.

He had ordered Mori to bedrest, leaving the man little choice in the matter. Regardless of how Mori continuously tried to tell him that he was feeling better.

Within his mind, Honey decided that it didn't matter. If Mori got up now, the fever might be back by tomorrow morning.

He was greeted with a smile when he entered Mori's room, handing his friend the bowl of soup and pulling a chair next to the bed so he could eat as well.

"Are you ever letting me leave?" Mori asked with a smile before he even touched his food.

Honey popped a spoonful of broth while he mulled over the question. "Hmmm … nope!" he finally concluded, "You're staying in this room forever!"

"What about work?"

"I'll tell your boss you quit!"

"How will I pay the bills!"

"I'll pay for anything you want! I'll even get you cable TV!"

"Friends?"

"You've got me, don't you?" Honey giggled, inching forward so he could hug Mori's neck.

Mori chuckled and turned his head with the intention to speak to Honey's face, but found himself rubbing their cheeks together rather intimately. Both of them turned red, their smiles turning to awkward stares when they realized how close their lips were.

Honey blinked slowly, his eyelids half-lowering while he stared. He hadn't noticed before how lovely Mori's eyes were. They looked black or even gray from a distance, but this close, you could tell they were a very deep brown.

He blinked again, feeling the soft blush deepen and his eyes widen as he let go of Mori's neck.

Mori awkwardly inched away as soon as he was free, turning to the bowl of soup he had been holding in his lap. With nothing else left to do, Honey returned to his seat as well and ate quietly, stopping when he realized his friend had paused and was staring at the bowl, spoon balanced in his mouth.

"Is something wrong?" Honey asked, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Was it burned? Was it terrible? Was Mori feeling ill again? Did he do something wrong.

"It's good." Mori replied after a moment, taking another spoonful, "It's _really_ good!"

"Really?" Honey asked, relief washing over him.

"What did you do?"

"I just followed the recipe." he replied, "Well, I thought it tasted awkward so I did add a pinch of lemon grass and a little bit of poultry seasoning. I didn't want to burn anything so I was really careful."

Mori kept eating. For the silent man, he had already spoken quite a bit for one evening. That, or he was preoccupied with how good the food tasted. Honey didn't mind as usual, it gave him the opportunity to start babbling while he ate. He spoke of how he had tried some cake recipes in the dead of night back home. Whenever the kitchen was abandoned and he wanted a cake that wasn't in the pantry, he'd go on the internet and find a recipe to try. He never thought it that hard once he got the hang of measuring, and hardly anyone suspected aside from the chefs wondering why they were low on a couple of ingredients.

"But I've never cooked aside from baking. And never for anyone else." he added, "I'm glad you like it."

"If you cooked like this every night, I'd never leave the apartment." Mori joked before sipping the last of the broth.

"R-really?" he replied with a light, flattered blush. He could see the way Mori ate from the way the kitchen was kept – a lot of takeout, bento boxes, and cup noodles. But he didn't think his cooking was THAT good.

Mori nodded and smiled, to which Honey felt his spirits lifted significantly. In fact, he felt like he could fly right about now. "I'll cook for you for as long as I'm staying here!" he both offered and decided immediately, "You must be tired when you come home from work, I'll have dinner waiting for you every night."

"That …"

"And don't say it's not necessary because I'm totally serious!" he said, holding up a finger as if lecturing the man, "Otherwise, I'd be bored just watching TV while I'm staying here!"

"No, I was going to say that sounds great."

"Oh ..." He voiced, lowering his hand. "But I can't do it tomorrow. Unless you don't want to go dinner with your mother."

Mori shrugged, which said everything it needed to as usual. His mother would dote and lecture if he didn't show up without a good excuse. And since he was feeling better, he didn't have a good excuse.

Honey nodded understandingly. "Are you done?" he asked, taking the bowl from Mori as he already knew the answer to be yes, "Get some sleep, I don't want you getting sick again. There's plenty of leftovers if you want some tomorrow."

Having neither the energy nor the will to argue, Mori put his head back on the pillows and watched Honey leave. The blond took their dishes back to the kitchen and managed to make it to the sink and set them down before he collapsed on all fours, staring at the floor and breathing in quick, shallow pants.

"What just happened?" he asked himself, every word making his heart beat faster, and he found it a small wonder that it wasn't echoing against the walls.

He closed his eyes, blissfully remembering how it felt to stare into Mori's eyes and feel his friend's breath against his lips. The memory served to calm both his heart and his breathing, until he was no longer gasping, but inhaling and exhaling evenly like he was peacefully asleep. He put a hand to his mouth, shaking while he felt a blush creep to his face for the hundredth time that night. He was imagining it … what might have happened if they hadn't suddenly felt awkward and pulled away.

It was several minutes before he moved again, standing slowly and walking in a zombie-like trance back to Mori's room.

This could ruin their friendship if he was caught. He knew that, but … there was something else he had to know ...

The door was still open. He glanced in to see Mori asleep, just as he suspected. The dark brown-eyed man had one hand between his cheek and the pillow, the other resting under the blanket pulled over him.

Honey walked to the bed, still shaking, heart thumping again. He stopped to admire Mori's handsome, masculine features for a second before he very gently hooked two fingers under the man's chin and tilted his head to the side so the sleeping lips were accessible. He leaned forward, closed his eyes, and kissed his old friend.

He wasn't sure weather to be happy that Mori was a heavy sleeper or worried about the fact that his suspicions were confirmed.


	6. Chapter 6

Call this a bonus chapter. I feel bad about the last one taking so long even though I was sick and couldn't help it much. :/

Yumi is loosely modeled after another anime character sharing the same surname. Guess who it is and you win points (the points don't matter, this is like Who's Line Is It Anyway?). Your hint is that I've also written for the fandom he's from.

* * *

Music theme for chapter - "What Do You Want From Me?" by Adam Lambert

**CHAPTER 6**

Another tedious day at work later, it was Friday evening. Yukio had expressed concern for Mori's well-being and apologized a thousand times over for yelling, but Mori neither minded nor felt there was anything to apologize for. In fact, he was more distracted by what was going to happen that night.

His family was visiting.

He was supposed to meet them for dinner.

Honey had delivered the message his mother left. He couldn't say no to her without a good excuse. And since he was no longer sick, he didn't have a good excuse.

So, instead, he was forced to select the best attire he owned and get ready for that night. He knew his mother would demand formal dress. She had already said she wouldn't have him taking a bus and insisted on sending a car for him. That's what he and his temporary roommate were waiting for while they stood outside of his apartment.

He fiddled with his black tie in a suit that looked eerily like his Ouran Academy uniform; all it needed was a crest over the breast pocket. Likewise, Honey was dressed up for the occasion, having borrowed a tie to throw on over a dress shirt he already had packed. But Honey's height kept him out of the elements, while Mori's fidgeting combined with a sudden breeze loosened the knot.

"You're going to undo it again." Honey sighed. The blond moved to stand in front of his companion so he could adjust the tie's knot until it was pulled up to Mori's neck again. "Why're you so tense?" he asked, smoothing out the collar and shirt before he stepped back to his place.

"You're not the only one I've failed to keep up contact with." Mori muttered, adverting his eyes. As supportive as she tried to be of her son, Mine Morinozuka didn't exactly like the idea of her child living in a poorer district of the city. And while she was also supportive of his relationships, when she found out about his feelings for his cousin …

He wanted to groan when the car pulled up. Actually, "car" wasn't the proper term. It was a limousine. People on the streets were already staring, and even without looking up, he knew his neighbors well enough to guess that at least a couple of them were poking their heads out of the window.

Trying to keep his cool, he kept his head lowered and waited for the driver to appear and open the door for them. When the chauffeur did, Mori and Honey ducked inside as casually as they could. The last thing Mori wanted was to attract more attention by panicking over it.

He took a seat on the red velvet. He had forgotten what it felt like to travel this way. Nothing at all like the bus system, he could barely feel it when the car started moving and wouldn't have been aware that they were driving if not for the fact that the landscape was whizzing past them. Honey remained unusually silent, causing Mori to think that perhaps his friend had caught whatever made him ill before. He didn't want to admit it, but a part of him wished it were true so he might have a chance to escape from dinner early.

The limo pulled up to a restaurant. A fancy restaurant. One of those restaurants with a fountain in the front and glass doors where everyone's talking, but for some reason, the loudest noise in the room is the tink-tink-tinking of silverware against plates.

Mori wasn't a fan.

The hushed buzzing only made to make the atmosphere more tense. And he felt like he would get thrown out if his manners weren't flawless while he was here. Aside from simply wanting to follow his own path in life, this was part of the reason why he moved away and got a job in the city. He remained quiet and polite because it was the right thing to do, but when living in the city, he didn't have to worry about screwing up.

"Takashi!" Called the sweet voice of an elderly woman, "Takashi, dear, over here!"

Mori sighted the silver-haired woman, her powder-blue kimono sleeve swaying with her arm while she waved. Working up a smile for her, he made his way to the table she sat at. She immediately stood and embraced him. You could call Mori any variation of names you wanted, he never minded giving his grandma a hug.

"It's so good to see you, Takashi. And you've gotten so tall." she said with a laugh, as if remembering a time when Mori only came up to her knee. Spotting the blond man next to him, she gave a polite bow, "And you must be the Mitsukuni Haninozuka I've heard so much about. I'm Yumi Akasaka."

"Pleased to meet you!" Honey said cheerily, returning the bow.

A woman at the table stood, almost as tall as Mori, with the same features: long legs, dark hair, dark eyes. Her legs were long, her nails were finely manicured. She wasn't lacking for looks. In fact, she looked very lovely, only a couple wrinkles and some lightened parts of her hair showing her age.

"It's good to see you both. I'm glad you could make it." she said, moving to embrace Mori as well. He returned his mother's hug, mentally checking his posture and grounding so she wouldn't get after him as was her habit.

After the usual greetings and introductions, the group of four sat down. Mori glanced over the menu, not really hungry. He was used to being quiet while another person spoke, so he didn't realize until several minutes into sitting down that Honey and his grandmother were carrying the entire conversation. Honey would say something about his work at the dojo or how he liked to eat, Yumi would mention something from her own experience or tell a story related to the topic, which would remind Honey of something else and start the process over again.

There were only two slight breaks in their conversation: when the waitress took their orders and when she returned to give them their food. They instantly took it up again, doing small chit-chat on any topic that came to mind and smiling all the while. Mori had to confess he was surprised they hit it off so well but couldn't be more satisfied. It significantly reduced the tension and took some weight off of his shoulders. As long as Grandma Yumi was happy, there was a much smaller chance of him being put on the spot.

That all changed when he realized the topic of discussion had changed to him.

"And how long have you and Takashi been friends, Haninozuka-San?" Yumi asked.

"Oh, you can call me Mitsukuni or even Honey if you like, that's what our friends in the Host Club called me. We got really close in middle school. I remember he didn't have many friends and we were both going to go to Ouran Academy."

"Yes, he was always pretty quiet. I'm glad someone got him out of his box."

"Haru-Chan and the other hosts helped!" Honey added. Apparently, he had already mentioned their adventures with the Host Club. Mori vaguely wondered if Honey had mentioned that 'Haru-Chan' had spent most of her time with the Host Club masquerading as a boy. He was also half-tempted to point out the fact that he was sitting right across the table while they talked about him.

"I'd like to meet them."

"Well, we're having a reunion in a couple weeks. That's part of why I'm staying with him."

"Oh, and here I thought you were roommates. You're so close."

"Nah. Well, we are close, but I have to look after Dad's dojos."

Mine cleared her throat, setting down her fork so she could dab her mouth with a napkin before speaking, "Yes, I'd heard that your father was thinking of opening up a couple dojos in America. If that's true, he'll need his son to move and help run them."

Mori looked up, ceasing in the picking of his food with the new news. He hadn't heard that … Honey was moving away?

Mori responded with something between a pout and a glare, as if he were seriously hoping nobody would bring up this subject. "He hasn't decided yet, and he doesn't need me to run new dojos. I don't even have any business training."

"Well, that's easy enough to fix." she replied, weaving her hands together to rest her chin on them, "He can send a few of his associates with you and you can train on the job. It only takes a couple months. And Ouran Academy should have taught you the basics, right?"

_'What is she TALKING about? He can't leave! Tell her, Mitsukuni!'_

His fingers drummed the edge of the table nervously, "Well, yes. Most of it's students go into Business, but ..."

"Mitsukuni!"

The entire table turned to stare at Mori's sudden outburst. He opened his mouth to try justify himself, sweating profusely at the embarrassment of being stared at, "You … can't go. Your … entire family is here."

"Well, Takashi, everyone has to leave the nest sometime. Come on, you two aren't attached at the hip." Mine said with a laugh, stirring her drink.

He looked to Honey for a response, this usually being the part where his friend at least changed the subject to make the crowd feel better. The blond took one look at Mori and turned his head to stare at the table surface, looking guilty.

* * *

Mori breathed a lot easier when he was finally out of the restaurant. He made his way back to the limo, ducked back inside and was prepared for the awkward car ride home with Honey when his grandmother poked her head inside the door, flashing a smile at him.

"Takashi, dear, would you mind if I rode with you? Mitsukuni needed to run an errand, so I let him take my limousine." she asked sweetly.

Mori nodded, not that he had any right to object to letting his own grandmother ride with him. He scooted over, allowing her to climb in and take the seat next to him after declining the chauffeur's offer to help her inside.

The engine started, the wheels turned, and Mori wanted to crawl in a corner and hide for the third time that night.

_'Just say it already. I know you're not just here to see my apartment building.'_

"Takashi ..."

_'I knew it.'_ Mori looked to Yumi, trying not to sigh at what he was sure was going to be a scolding or a lecture.

"Are you and Mitsukuni dating?"

Mori felt his heart jump into his throat, his eyes widening. What … no, just what? Where did THAT come from?

She chuckled, "No need to look like a deer caught in the headlights. I'm an old-fashioned woman but I'm not blind. It's fairly obvious you boys are in love."

That didn't really put his mind at ease, it just made slightly less panicked since he had never told his grandmother about his love life. And if it was obvious … why didn't his mother say anything?

"Love is love, dear. I know what you're thinking," she continued, as adept at carrying a conversation with him as Honey was, "But your mother can't get past looking at Honey as a second child as well as a nephew. She needs to be reminded that relatives by marriage are fair game."

This was a joke, right? He was fairly sure this was some cruel joke.

"Oh, heck, in my day, it wasn't that big a deal to marry your cousin even if you were related by blood. Some families encouraged it. The closer you are, the longer the relationship lasts. But you never did answer my question, Takashi, are the two of you an item?"

Mori looked down and shook his head no.

"Why ever not?"

"I don't … think he likes me … that way." he said, not taking his eyes off of his lap.

"Oh, well that shouldn't stop you from trying." she said as if she were encouraging a small child to learn to ride a bicycle, "When you say, 'think', it makes be believe you haven't even asked him weather or not he likes men."

He shook his head again.

She smiled again, almost understandingly, before glancing out the window and seeing that the car had come to a stop. "I think this is where you live. And Mitsukuni-San - or should I say Honey - is waiting for you."

Mori looked over at where she had gestured, seeing his blond friend leaning against the building wall, tie undone.

"Listen, even if it turns out he doesn't like you that way, the world won't end if you try. And you might as well make the most of your time together."

With a nod, Mori leaned over to give her a kiss on the cheek, which was the least he could do after her accepting and wise words. He crawled out of the car, waiting until the door was shut and the exhaust fumes dissolved before he could face Honey.

Honey stared back at him straight-faced, not making a single move. Taking that as a signal for something, Mori reached into his pocket for the keys and started towards the door.

He was stopped when Honey put a hand on his chest, forcing him back a couple steps.

"We're not going inside yet." Honey said firmly.

"We're not? Where are we going?"

"Anywhere." he insisted, "Anywhere but here."


	7. Chapter 7

-eyes dart from side to side- ... -rubs hands together- MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! MAKING MY FANS WAIT IN SUSPENSE! -coughcoughcough- Who said that?

Anna Sthetic is based on an irl drag queen I know. (And, yes, the queens in my town really do choose names like that) I actually went through a long personal debate about weather to make the character's name the same as my friend's stage name, and in the end, decided not to. Though anyone acquainted with the drag scene in my town could probably guess who I'm talking about …

POPULAR YAOI MANGA REFRENCE FTW! If you find it, you win a cookie.

* * *

Music theme for chapter - "I'm a Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears (Please don't start. Nobody's forcing you to listen to the music themes and at least I can admit to liking her)

**CHAPTER 7**

Mori didn't say a word. Honey led him down a few streets, to a noisier part of the neighborhood that was occupied mainly by businesses and hotels. Regardless of the noise, he was somehow more comfortable here than he was in the stuffy restaurant they had just gotten out of. Women with angled faces and broad shoulders walked down the street, wearing the flashiest dresses he had ever seen. A few smiled as they walked, all of them carried confidence as if they ruled the world simply by putting on high-heeled shoes.

Honey stopped and entered a bar, the flashing neon sign passing by so quickly, Mori barely got the chance to read it. In pink letters two feet high, he managed to catch, "Usagi-San's Lair"

He was hesitant to take more than two steps into the bar, but Honey grabbed his hand and pulled him forward, leading him to the counter where the blond quickly ordered a long island iced tea.

"Mitsukuni, you can't-"

"Can't _what_? I'm 23, Takashi!" Honey snapped, cutting off his friends already-hesitant words, "I'm not a little kid! I can make my own decisions!"

He took his wallet from his back pocket and shoved his ID at the bartender. It was understandably so, even though he was older and had gained several inches in height, he still looked ridiculously young. The iced tea was delivered in no time, and Honey took a seat on one of the bar stools to sip it.

Mori leaned against the counter and watched the crowd. There was, in reality, absolutely nothing he could do about Honey's behavior. Aside from the fact that Honey already had his mind set on this in the first time, Mori was completely incapable of telling him "no". He decided to just wait until his friend was drunk and that might make him a little more reasonable. He just prayed his cousin wouldn't get into any major trouble before they could get back to the apartment.

He scanned the room, watching the people pass by, either drinking, talking and laughing, or hanging around the dance floor where music was playing loudly. He raised an eyebrow, sighting two men sitting at the same table across the room. It wouldn't have caught his attention normally, but he saw they were holding hands under the table. He glanced at the table next to them, another pair of men, one of them grinned and giggled at something the other one said. The next table over, two _more_ men, these two were kissing. The next table, two women sharing drinks. The next table, two men more men. The next table, another of those women wearing the flashy clothing and high heels … wait, that wasn't a woman.

Mori's eyes widened.

This was a gay bar.

He wasn't sure weather to feel mortified or frightened, but he knew for sure that he didn't want to stick around here. He swiveled around to see … nothing. Honey wasn't there.

_'Oh, god. I lost my crush at a gay bar.'_ Was the only thing running through his head while he desperately tried to look through the crowd, through every table and starry-eyed couple in search of his friend. He could scarcely hear anything aside from his own breathing, and the longer he went without seeing Honey, the more the room seemed to spin around him. He was starting to panic.

A musical voice all but chimed behind him, "You're dressed awful nice, going somewhere after this?"

Mori turned again to the bar, seeing a man half-standing, half-leaning against the counter. He was slender, not too skinny but wore a tank top to clearly show off his biceps, and red hair that was cut short topped his head. Mori must have gotten some kind of look on his face (honestly, he wasn't keeping track of his expressions. Part of him was still trying to figure out what was going on), because the man laughed and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Ah, sorry, sorry." the redhead laughed, "I've never been a smooth talker. You're just so handsome, and I assumed you were alone. I'm Daisuke Hasegawa."

His instincts kicked in, not allowing him to just run away from someone who introduced themselves already. So he gave a bow, "Takashi Morinozuka. Some people call me Mori."

"I like Mori, it rolls off the tongue better." Daisuke said with a grin, "So _are_ you alone?"

"No!" he said immediately, not caring weather people expected he and Honey were a couple. He just wanted to get out of here, and anyone could help, "I'm with this … short blond in a collared shirt." He moved his hands awkwardly, while he spoke, trying to give Daisuke and idea of what Honey looked like. Unfortunately, he had never been good at descriptions, but the guy seemed to pick up on what he was trying to say.

"Oh, wait, short guy, right? Was here a couple minutes ago? He's a bit of a fun-lover, isn't he?"

"Have you seen him?" Mori felt his heart jump with hope.

"Sure, he ran onto the dance floor."

Mori immediately pushed his way onto the dance floor, using his shoulder to shove aside patrons and earning an occasional, "Hey!" But for the most part, the half-drunk dancers were far too busy enjoying the music to notice being pushed a couple inches off their path.

He finally spotted the head of blond hair dancing. Or at least attempting to dance. Being drunk didn't exactly heighten the senses.

It must have looked good when played out in his mind, or else he wouldn't be doing it. But in actuality, Honey's "dancing" consisted of raising his arms in the air and shaking his fists while occasionally taking a step forwards or backwards.

He was also rubbing up against another guy.

Mori calmly pushed his way to Honey and placed a hand on the blond man's shoulder. The good part of their relationship was the fact that they could communicate without speaking. Normally, it was great since Mori didn't like making too much noise and Honey could all but read his mind. The second Honey felt Mori's hand on his shoulder, he stopped dancing, turned, and looked up at his friend.

Again, being drunk doesn't exactly heighten the sensed.

Before Honey's alcohol-fogged mind could figure out what Mori wanted (ie: "Get me out of here, I'm insanely uncomfortable!"), the man he'd been dancing with stepped forward and glared at Mori.

"Hey, you got a problem, buddy?" the man grunted.

Mori looked him up and down. He was the same height as Mori and more muscular, but he doubted that this tough guy had nearly the martial arts training that he did. One could tell just by looking at him that he was mostly talk, and very muscle-headed.

"Oh, right!" Honey exclaimed as if he had remembered the answer to a quiz question, "Takashi, this is Yoshi-Chan! Yoshi-Chan, this is Takashi. But he likes it when people call 'im Mori."

Yoshi looked like he couldn't care less. "And we were having a good time, Mori-_San,_" he added the honorific as if merely acknowledging Mori's existence left a bitter taste in his mouth, "So why don't you go back to your bar stool and leave us alone?"

With the last words, Yoshi gave Mori's shoulder a push and the tall man was forced a couple steps back. No sooner did he catch Yoshi sweeping Honey away again, however, that did Daisuke appear behind him with a bottle of alcohol in one hand and the other on his back.

"Y'aren't really gonna just take that, are you?" Daisuke said before Mori was pushed again, this time forward, and straight into Yoshi's turned back.

The burly man turned again and again, Mori wasn't the least but intimidated by his glare. "You got a problem, buddy?" the guy snapped. One could almost see the veins pulsing on his neck and forehead, both of which were clearly visible due to his shaved head.

Mori said nothing. He was about to walk away but remembered that Daisuke was still behind him and wasn't in the mood to get pushed again today. He didn't want a fight either, though.

Honey butted in, displaying his trademark, adorable pout, "Hey, no need for fighting, guys. Come on!"

The dancing around them had significantly slowed. By now, most of the crowd's attention had been diverted to Mori and the angry Yoshi.

"No!" Yoshi snapped, cracking his knuckles, "Punk's gonna get it for getting in my way!"

"Woo! Fight!" a spectator shouted from the crowd.

"He's not a punk!" Honey whined, tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes.

That was it for Mori. It didn't matter if it was the alcohol making his friend emotional or just the heat of the moment; Yoshi had made Honey cry.

Yoshi charged forward, fist at the ready. It was an amateur mistake. Mori easily stepped to the side of the punch right as it was thrown. Yoshi barely had time to look confused before Mori took the extended arm in both hands and used the man's momentum against him. In one swift move, Mori flipped Yoshi onto his back, who landed with a thud so loud he was honestly surprised that the floor wasn't dented.

"Awright, Mori-San! Yeah!" Daisuke shouted from the crowd, raising his bottle in victory.

It took a few seconds for Yoshi to get over his daze. "The hell?" he muttered, holding the side of his head.

The bartender, a drag queen sporting an actual crown that looked almost too big for her head, a silver dress, evening gloves, and a pair of heels that made a clack-clack-clacking sound as she walked, stepped out from behind the counter where she'd been working. The crowd seemed to part in her honor, as if she were actually royalty, and she stopped once she reached the fallen Yoshi.

"Anna!" he said once he recognized the person towering over him, "Thank god you're here."

"Don't even start, Yoshi." Anna said, crossing her arms, "We're all a little sick of you right now. Why don't you go home and sober up?"

Yoshi first looked shocked, then disappointed, then stood up and opened his mouth as if to defend himself, but it quickly became obvious that here, Anna's word was law. When he realized he couldn't fight a losing battle, he turned and headed for the door.

Anna turned to Mori and flashed a bright, friendly smile at him. "Sorry about that, he's been causing trouble all night. Just enjoy yourselves." she said, then returned to her work, her heels still clack-clack-clacking while she walked.

While the people around them slowly went back to their merry ways, Mori felt something cling to his arm. He looked down to spot Honey, both arms wrapped around him like he was about to run away.

"Don't scare me like that! You could've gotten hurt!" he said, a slight whine to his voice. He looked up at Mori with a pair of wide, light brown doe eyes.

Mori couldn't hold back a smile. Frankly, Honey's face was too adorable for words.

* * *

As the night drew on, Mori found himself loosening up more and more while Daisuke treated him to more and more drinks. The red-haired man was, amazingly, not as sloshed as Mori was. But he'd probably been to the bar several times, and therefore had learned to hold his liquor much better.

Mori and Daisuke both stayed at the bar, while Honey switched between there and the dance floor. After the spar Mori got into, nobody dared hitting on Honey, which meant the taller man could relax a little.

He still found himself staring, though. His fogged-over mind stopped him from taking into account the usual social boundaries, and he frequently caught himself vacantly staring at the Honey's butt while the blond either walked away or danced.

"He is pretty cute, isn't he?" Daisuke put in at one point in the evening.

Mori glared. Daisuke raised his arms in defense.

"'ey, chill man. Frankly, not my type. And not my guy, either." he grinned and winked, "That's the rule of thumb here, one Yoshi always ignored. S'why none of us were sad to see ya flip him."

Mori turned the glare-meter down, shifting it to a frown when he realized how untrue Daisuke's words were. They'd never be true, as far as he was aware. Much as he wished for it, Honey would never be "his guy".

"Why so glum?"

Mori shrugged his response. Either Daiskuke accepted that as a reasonable answer or he got himself under the impression that Mori needed cheering up, because the next thing he did was throw his free arm around Mori's shoulder and grin.

"Look, man, been there and done that. You shoulda seen people when I started coming out. I mean, my dad saw it coming a mile away but he still couldn't get used to it. Mom almost fainted and my sister … hehe, poor girl. I thought she was feisty _before, _but when she found out there were some dudes at my school givin' me crap ..."

Mori blinked and stared at his friend, wondering what this was leading up to.

"I'm correct in assuming you're a first-timer, right?" Daisuke said, looking a bit puzzled as if a negative answer would mean his radar was off.

It took Mori a couple seconds to realize what Daisuke was talking about. When he did, his eyes grew wide.

Daisuke snickered and gave Mori a slap on the back, "Relax, man, we've all been there. Hell, I remember when Anna Sthetic first opened this place, she wasn't a queen at the time but a couple of her friends got her to try it and the second she put on the dress, the confidence came naturally. Want some advice from someone who's been around the block a few times?"

He nodded without hesitation. For reasons he couldn't even fathom, he really wanted to know.

"Good. Tip number one: Just be yourself. Any asshole who thinks you're too macho or too gay or not macho or gay enough doesn't deserve you in the first place. And anybody who can't accept you for who you wanna love doesn't deserve you either."

Mori nodded again. While it was all advice that he'd heard a dozen times over in after-school specials, it seemed different coming from his friend.

Daisuke dug through his pocket and pulled out a small, plastic-wrapped package. He shoved it into Mori's hand and closed the man's fingers over it. Mori knew what it was, even without Daisuke's next tidbit of advice.

"Tip number two: use protection."

* * *

Daisuke was kind enough to call a cab for them to get home. Mori and Honey had both been drinking well into the night, and by now, they could barely walk straight. It took every ounce of will Honey had not to laugh at how the normally composed and quiet Mori stumbled out of the cab and into the apartment building, the struggled to figure out which buttons on the elevator to press.

When the elevator finally lurched into motion, Honey looked up at his friend and smiled, "You were really cool tonight, Takashi! We should do this again!"

Mori returned the smile. Though his smiles were rare, Honey loved them, and he had lost track of the number of times he'd seen them this evening. Weather it was because of the booze or the atmosphere at the bar, a part of him wanted to do this again only for the opportunity to see Mori smile.

The elevator finally stopped and opened. Mori nearly tripped while he stepped out, making Honey giggle. If Mori even noticed, he didn't seem to mind. He found his way to the apartment door, pulled his keys out of his pocket, and began fumbling for the right one.

Honey stared while he followed Mori, and stared some more while his friend filtered through his keys.

He could feel his heart pounding so hard that it almost hurt. It was beating in the same way it had when he had taken the kiss from Mori.

He knew what he wanted.

By now, Mori had finally gotten the correct key into the hold and turned it. He had his hand on the doorknob when Honey called his name.

"Takashi?"

Mori looked over. The blond grabbed his friend's shirt collar and yanked him down to capture his lips. The taller man's eyes widened but he made no move to resist. Instead, he closed his eyes and parted his lips, allowing Honey's tongue entrance. His hand managed to turn the doorknob, and the pair stumbled into the apartment.


	8. Chapter 8

I should tease you guys like that more often. The reviews for the last chapter made me giggle -evilface-

Also, before you complain, the reason this chapter took so long is because it originally didn't have a lemon in it. But someone requested it, so I added it in. Enjoy.

* * *

Music theme for chapter - "Blackbird" by The Beatles

**CHAPTER 8**

Groggy, hung-over, and confused about where he was and what was going on, Mori awoke. He blinked a few times as the morning sun seeping in from between the curtains pierced his eyeballs like tiny daggers. It took him a few moments to be sure he could move without throwing up, and when he reached that state, he slowly and carefully pulled himself into a sitting position. The blanket that had been covering him fell, revealing his bare chest but still covering him from the hips down.

He rubbed an eye. When he finally focused enough to register his surroundings. He realized he was in his bedroom, but he scanned the area just to make sure. Door, wall, carpet, blanket, Honey, nightstand, lamp …

What was Honey doing there?

He jumped, his face suddenly able to put a tomato to shame. That couldn't be right! What the _hell_ happened last night?

Honey stirred, causing Mori to jump again and leaving him tempted to dive under the bed and hope he hadn't been seen. He realized that would be a moot point, though, considering they were in _his_ bed and Honey probably knew what had happened after they got home.

With a moan of objection at the fact that he was having to wake up, Honey propped himself up on his elbows and yawned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"'Morning."The blond muttered groggily, as if this happened every day with them.

The silence following was awkward, but probably only for poor Mori, who was still going through possibilities of just what the heck happened last night. He was tempted to go find his pants and see if the condom Daisuke had slipped him was still there.

Honey looked up at Mori and frowned. As usual, the two were able to communicate without words, and Honey could see the question on Mori's mind.

"Nothing happened last night."

Mori blinked in confusion. Nothing happened?

"We were taking our clothes off, but by the time we got to the bed, you'd passed out. We didn't have sex." Honey said with a sigh.

Mori sat back against the headboard. Honestly, he was confused. They didn't have sex, for which he was relieved. But Honey seemed … disappointed.

"I wanted to ..." were the next words out of Honey's mouth, spoken almost too quietly to hear.

Mori blinked again and looked over at the blond. Chocolate eyes met light brown one's, Honey looking some cross between upset and desperate.

"I like you, Takashi." He went on, tears forming at the corners of his eyes, "I really, really like you. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Mori's heart just about melted, somewhere in his mind, he hoped to wake up from this dream soon so that he wouldn't get his hopes up. Seeing the almost hurt expression on Honey's face, he realized it wasn't a dream, and pulled the blond into his lap, arms wrapped around him.

"Please don't cry." he voiced, "I like you, too. I .. love you." He nearly choked on the words he'd been aching to say for so long. Honey looked up at him, eyes wide and still watery.

"Really?" he breathed.

Mori smiled and held Honey a little closer, "Really."

He felt like they could have stayed that way forever, in each other's arms. He certainly wouldn't have minded. They managed to spend a few moments together in blissful silence before they both realized that the sun was shining through the window while it rose higher in the sky and, to further break the mood, they both had hangovers.

Having forgotten about his headache in the feeling of the moment, Mori finally set Honey down and tried to stand, wobbling a bit as nausea hit him from the attempt. He caught Honey giggling from the bed, and failed to see exactly what was so hilarious.

"Anna told me about a type of tea that was good for hangovers." he said, "I'll make you some while you shower."

While he was still puzzled over what Honey had been laughing about (apparently, his attempt to walk must have looked silly), the concept sounded like paradise. Honey hopped out of bed a closed the curtains, a welcome relief for both of them, before picking up his pants from the bedroom floor and slipping into them.

"Meet me in the kitchen." he said, significantly less enthused than usual because of his own headache.

Mori watched him go before moving to the bathroom. He went through his normal routine; shower, brush hair, brush teeth. Only the though crossed his mind where he wondered how it was that he and Honey ended up switching roles. Not too long ago, Mori was the one waiting on him hand and foot. It didn't seem like that long ago, anyway. Maybe they really had grown up since their days in the Host Club …

When he was dressed and looking decent, he silently walked to the kitchen. Honey was already waiting for him, and greeted him with a smile. "Just in time." he said, nodding towards the finished pot of tea, "I already tried it, it works wonders."

Now it was honestly making him uncomfortable. He grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured himself some tea only because he knew Honey wanted it, but he felt awkward drinking the tea his old friend had made him. In his own way, he enjoyed attending to Honey.

"How is it?" Honey asked. While lost in his thoughts, Mori had started staring into space again. He snapped out of the trance to notice Honey looking up at him, the usual curious doe eyes displayed.

" … It's wonderful." Mori answered truthfully. It did alleviate his headache and nausea, and it tasted delicious, too. His mind was elsewhere, though. He wasn't ill anymore, but the way his heart was beating made him nauseous all over again. He hadn't felt this strange since … well, since Darrel was around.

Honey frowned, catching Mori's hesitation. "What's wrong?" he asked, whining slightly as if he feared Mori were keeping something from him.

"Nothing." He hated admitting it. He was thinking of his dead lover while the man he had pined after for years was right in front of him, and finally his.

Honey's expression didn't change; he could tell Mori was lying and something told him no amount of pouting would coax it out of him. _'Takashi's always thought that actions speak louder than words.'_ the thought occurred to him.

He had to stand on his toes to reach, but he leaned forward and gave Mori a kiss. Mori blinked in confusion for a second; this would also take getting used to, but at least it was something he knew he would enjoy. He must have forgotten to wipe the surprise off his face, because when Honey pulled away and looked at him again, he frowned for a second time.

"Please tell me what's wrong." Honey said with a pout, wrapping his arms around Mori's neck.

Mori set the mug on the counter so both his arms would be free and returned the embrace, putting his hands on Honey's hips. With a genuine smile, he went in for a second kiss, which Honey gladly returned. He couldn't help himself; Honey looked far too cute while pouting.

It was paradise for their lips to meet and dance like a pair of birds in flight. If this was a dream, Mori never wanted it to end …

* * *

Following their embarrassing morning, the whole day seemed to blur together for the new couple. Mori ended up taking over for the rest of the day, but the two seemed in a silent but loving argument over who got to serve who. Out of habit for the both of them, Mori won, and ended up cooking all three meals for them.

When Mori wasn't cooking, however, Honey insisted on being the one to hold him. For the most part, they sat on the couch finding nothing interesting on the TV. Neither wanted to leave the apartment, so when they couldn't find a show or movie they wanted to see, they were able to occupy themselves by simply looking at each other. Somehow, they were having entire conversations simply by gazing into each other's eyes.

That night, after dinner (Mori made a seafood hot pot, which Honey watched him make), they were both preparing for bed. Once he'd brushed his teeth and changed into his pajamas, Mori emerged from the bathroom in a robe to see Honey in the living room, clutching Usa-Chan close to him. The blond donned a loose t-shirt with a flower printed on the front and a pair of sleep pants.

Mori had to stop himself from smiling too much. Wasn't it just the other night that he was complaining he wasn't treated like an adult?

He could tell Honey was hesitating, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. But they had already slept together once, there was no harm in doing so now. Mori held out his arms, which Honey immediately ran into. Usa-Chan ended up sandwiched between them while they hugged for a few moments. After their embrace, Mori hooked an arm under Honey's legs and easily lifted his lover, carrying him to the bed.

Once he'd gently set Honey down, he took off his robe to reveal his finely-toned chest. He usually slept without a shirt, and saw no point in breaking the habit now. He was even tempted to show off a bit when he noticed Honey greedily taking in his appearance, but decided against it.

He slid under the blankets from the other side of the bed and the pair gravitated towards the center.

Mori felt his heart pound with anticipation. He blinked when Honey placed one hand on his chest and slipped the other behind his head to bring him forward for a passionate kiss, unsure of what he should be doing. He allowed his eyes to drift shut when Honey deepened the kiss, gradually submitting to the sensual feel of the blond's tongue entangling itself with his own.

He felt a hand slowly push past the waistband of his pants, as if it's owner was afraid that he might reject the intimate move. Mori reacted instantly when his ass was given a gentle squeeze, making him buck forward and consequently rub himself up against Honey.

When both his mind and his body realized that his erection was rubbing against Honey's own, he had to tear his lips away from the blond's and bury his face in Honey's neck in order to bite back the moan that threatened to emerge. He was so sensitive it was embarrassing. As it was, he was already panting heavily with his entire body acting like that of a cat in heat.

He was pulled back to reality when he realized that Honey was working off his pants. He rolled onto his back and sat up to see, noticing Honey was now topless; the blond had somehow taken off his shirt when he wasn't looking. When the pair of sleep pants were pulled past his ankles and tossed to the floor, Mori's hands quickly moved to cover himself.

Honey, who'd eagerly positioned himself between Mori's legs, looked at the man curiously. Mori could already feel the blood rushing to his face and adverted his eyes shamefully. "I've never ..." Mori voiced quietly, trailing off before he could finish the statement.

Honey's puzzled face turned to one of understanding. His gentle smile and eyes gazed at Mori … god, he could lose himself in those eyes. He nearly did, so distracted that he nearly didn't notice when Honey took his hands and placed them on either side of his hips before pushing him back down with another passionate kiss. Again, Mori submitted to his silent command, both unable and unwilling to object when Honey's mouth started moving down, kissing and nipping at Mori's neck.

Mori allowed a gasp to escape when Honey found an especially sensitive area of his neck. Mori felt Honey shuffle to remove his pants, and as he did so, the taller man reached into the nightstand drawer to retrieve the condom that he'd stashed there.

He looked back at Honey, greedily taking in the sight of man's naked body. Honey, seeing the square package, took it from Mori and pushed the man back on the bed for the second time. This time, Mori readied himself for another kiss and let out a small mew of pleasure when Honey went for his neck again and rubbed their erections together.

Mori wrapped his arms around Honey and gave into the pleasure, stiffening when he felt a finger enter him, followed by a second. Just when Mori thought he might relax and get used to the new feeling, he moaned and threw his head back at the unexpected jolt of pleasure when Honey found his sweet spot.

A few more teases to that spot … Honey was quickly discovering that he liked it when he could bring the normally silent Mori to the point of crying out in pleasure.

Honey removed his fingers, letting Mori relax for a second. And a second was all he had, as in a single thrust, he felt Honey enter him. He threw his head back again, panting heavily. Though lacking for height, Honey was hardly lacking for size and stamina. With every thrust, Mori felt himself come closer and closer to the edge until at one point, he was sure that Honey had changed angles just to tease him.

"Mits'kuni." Mori managed to moan. As if answering his call, the blond sped up his thrusts. The only thing that could be heard over the loud moan Mori let escape was the sound of Honey panting and letting out his own cry of "Takashi … Takashi!" as the pair climaxed together.

Honey pulled out and lay down on top of Mori, completely relaxed. If not for the fact that he was still panting, Mori would have sworn the blond had passed out. Once he'd caught his breath, Honey tossed the discarded condom into the wastebasket by the bed and curled up by Mori.

Even if he wanted to, Mori couldn't argue against it when Honey positioned himself just above Mori on the pillows and held him close. He did raise an eyebrow, however, when he noticed Usa-Chan had been left on the nightstand, and he realized Honey was holding him in the same way the blond would cuddle with the pink rabbit at night.

Mori fell asleep almost instantly, feeling he didn't mind being Usa-Chan's replacement in the slightest bit.


	9. Chapter 9

Be forewarned: Finals week is around the corner so the next update may be longer than usual. Just fyi. My real life always comes first.

* * *

Music theme for chapter: "Kids" by MGMT

**CHAPTER 9**

The next morning, Mori had to slide out of Honey's arms to answer his cell phone. He picked up the phone from the nightstand, wondering who was calling him first thing in the morning.

"Hello?" he asked, leaning back against the headboard and trying to speak quietly for fear of waking his lover.

"_Hey, Morinozuka."_ the voice of his boss answered, _"Feeling better? I'm sorry to call you on your day of, but it's kinda important. You know the case I assigned you and Sasaki to?"_

"Sort of. I was kind of out of it when we were there." he answered.

"_That's fine, I was expecting to have to go over it again since you passed out at the scene. In short, this guy was jumped and killed, but a a handful of people are really riding our butts because it might be a hate crime. I can't say much over the phone, but a few of the guy's friends just contacted us and we really need someone involved in the case here to listen to their statements."_

He glanced at Honey, still asleep and looking peaceful as ever. He couldn't bring himself to wake the man up or leave without saying anything, but it was between letting his love sleep peacefully and getting in trouble at his job …

He sighed, "Let me get ready, I just woke up."

"_Thanks, Morinozuka. Take your time, they won't be here for a while."_

That was his plan to begin with, long she hung up and she set his own phone on the nightstand. While he feared Honey's wrath like any other sane person, his lover had gotten enough sleep for the morning and it wouldn't be the first time he'd had to wake the blond up in the morning.

"Mitsukuni." Mori said, shaking Honey gently.

Honey groaned in objection and nuzzled into the pillow.

"I was called into work, I need to leave."

Mori's next statement was enough to wake him up. His eyes opened right away and he sat up only enough to be able to look at his lover. "You're leaving?" he fussed.

"I'll be back soon." he assured.

"Promise?"

"I promise." he said, smoothing out the head of blond hair before sliding his hand under Honey's chin so he could tilt the man's head up for a kiss, "Be good while I'm gone, OK?"

Honey worked up a smile, sitting up so he could throw his arms around Mori, "I will. I'll miss you."

Mori let out a hearty chuckle and returned the hug. For the hundredth time since the day before, they sat in bliss in each others arms. Before too long, Mori had to break away and get ready for the day. But this time, by the time he left the apartment, he looked forward to coming home from work and being greeted by Honey instead of an empty home.

* * *

Mori was on top of the world by the time he got to the police station. Though his expression was as aloof as ever, he'd never felt more alive. The chief handed him the paperwork for the case, and he glanced over it before moving to the waiting area to greet the person who agreed to be questioned.

When he got there he stopped in his tracks, instantly recognizing the head of red hair and slightly angled face, though the green eyes weren't glazed over by alcohol and his attire was much less casual. The tight t-shirt was replaced by a long-sleeved polo shirt and a loose jacket over it.

He opened his mouth to say Daisuke's name, but managed to stop himself. There could be a conflict of interest if it was discovered that they knew each other, and it would be a pain to explain that it didn't really matter since they'd only met two days earlier.

Daisuke apparently picked up on the signal and stood, bowing respectfully, "You must be the officer in charge of the case. My name is Daisuke Hasegawa, I was a friend of Yuuka's."

"Nice to meet you." Mori said, returning the bow, "Why don't we move to a room so we can have more privacy?"

Mori led him to one of the offices that was reserved for just this. It wasn't occupied by anyone in particular, just containing a desk and a few chairs. The pair entered, Mori gesturing towards one of the chairs for his friend to sit before shutting the door.

"Didn't know you were a cop." Daisuke said with a grin as he took his seat, "How was my act?"

"Good job." Mori answered with a nod, "But we need to get to business, I work here."

"Right, catching up later." he replied, "What do you need to know?"

Mori leaned against the edge of the desk, setting down the case file on the surface, "Start by telling me about your friend. How long you knew each other and how you found out about the death; things like that."

"His nickname was Yuu-Chan. We met about a year ago, maybe a little less." Daisuke explained, sitting back in his chair to get a little more comfortable, "We had a friend in common and he'd just turned 20, so they all had to go out and get sloshed and I was invited. I actually think my friend was trying to fix us up, but there wasn't really any chemistry. Besides, he met his life partner, Ryuu, shortly after that."

He paused and frowned, as if the memories were suddenly painful. Considering the man had just died, it was completely normal, and Mori patiently waited for Daisuke to collect himself.

"Ryuu was just starting college and a couple years younger than him, but they hit it off right away." He continued, "Ryuu lived by himself, Yuu-Chan still with his mother, who was an amazing woman from what I saw. Fantastically supportive of her son. His dad seemed … iffy of us, but not entirely homophobic, you know?"

"Did he have any enemies that you know of?"

"No, that's the thing that shocked us. I know Ryuu came from a conservative family that wasn't too happy when he came out, but hell, we all have 'that one relative'." he said, holding up his fingers for air quotes, "He kept his nose clean for the most part, didn't even get drunk when he went to the bar, it was more social-time for him."

Mori nodded and frowned. Much as he liked Daisuke, he was also serious about his job and this particular "lead" was turning out to be a dead end.

"I think that's enough for now." Mori said, picking up the file again, "Thank you for your time."

Daisuke stood, stretch his arms, and gave a respectful bow. "Sure, no prob." he said, "By the way, if you don't mind me asking, how's Honey?"

Mori contemplated how to answer the question, recalling their embarrassing "morning after" that led into what was probably the most blissful day he'd ever experienced. His expression must have given away more than he intended, because before he knew it, Daisuke was chuckling.

"I know that face." the redhead said, pointing at his friend, "What did I tell you about being yourself? Hey, I know I'm not much older than you, so I can't get away with calling you 'kids', but I'm glad it worked out for you two."

Mori returned the smile Daisuke was giving him while he led the man back to the front of the station. He wondered if Daisuke really knew what had gone on after they came home from the bar; if he knew that the condom his friend had given him was tossed in the nightstand drawer the second he had his act together the next day and they hadn't done anything aside from cuddling and the occasional passionate kiss.

He returned to his desk with the case file, still contemplating what had happened. He couldn't shake the feeling of how … if he'd been able to prevent what happened to Darrel, this wouldn't be. The thought itself made him feel incredibly guilty. After all, Honey was right in front of him and he was still thinking of his late lover.

He decided to focus on work. What Daisuke said caught his interest and he wanted to know more about the case. In hindsight, he probably should have looked over the file first, but there was no point in regretting it when he could correct the mistake right away.

He opened the file and instantly wished he hadn't. He wasn't sure what to have expected, but as he turned every page, slowly reading descriptions, notes, and looking at pictures, his stomach started to churn more and more.

The body had been found at approximately 11:00 AM by the man's mother, who went looking for him when he didn't return home the previous night. An autopsy revealed that he'd died of internal hemorrhaging and blunt head trauma. Presumably beaten to death, the body was found behind an abandoned building and the time of death was calculated to be between 12:00 and 2:00 AM.

He turned the next page, and again, wished he hadn't. The images of the body … _Yuuka's_ body … were sickening. He'd forgotten the man had a name. Actually, that was something he too often forgot; he couldn't remember specifically thinking that the person he was looking at had a name, a family, a lover, and friends … until now.

Yuuka was sprawled out with both his neck and right arm bent in an unnatural position. His clothes were stained with blood, his body covered with bruises, his eyes open and glassy, no longer able to see. Across his forehead in black marker, someone had written the word "Fag", and on his shirt, though stained with his own blood, the words "AIDS fucker" could also be seen scribbled in the same manner.

He'd never felt more disturbed by a case before, or more determined to look over it carefully. He knew there'd be at least a couple more people to interview, and he'd have to stick around for that. But he internally promised himself to spend every free second he had looking at the file and evidence. If he couldn't solve this case … he wasn't sure what he'd do. He just knew it was important that he put every ounce of strength he had into it.


	10. Chapter 10

So, it's finals week and I just finished with rehearsing and performing two separate shows (a play and a benefit drag show. For those who don't know, one of my majors is theater). I am sorry that updates have slowed down, but before anyone complains, I would like to remind you that my real life has and always will take priority over my internet life.

I would also like to apologize because I feel like the story's starting to slow down a little. I don't know how to remedy that, but I will try.

* * *

Music theme for chapter - "Coffee Break" by Forever the Sickest Kids

**CHAPTER 10**

Honey had made himself comfortable while he waited for Mori's return. There wasn't much on television (he'd never been that big on watching TV shows anyway). After the usual morning routine of showering, dressing, and grabbing something from the fridge for breakfast, he settled on reading a book while lounging on the couch. Quite relaxing, actually.

As he read, he smiled. He thought of what he would do when Mori came home. The two could cuddle some more, maybe go get lunch or dinner together.

The apartment's normally calm atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of Honey's cell phone. He recognized the ringtone instantly, and was tempted to just let it go to voicemail. But that would just get him into more trouble, even if he _really_ didn't want to talk to his father right now.

He stood and walked over to one of the end tables where he'd stashed his phone to charge. Even if he already knew who it was, he found himself checking the caller ID before he picked up. No doubt about it now.

"Hello." he answered as pleasantly as he could.

"_Hi, Mitsukuni. How are you?"_

"I'm good. Takashi's at work right now but he has a really nice place." Honey replied, leaving out how their relationship had changed so suddenly. He could tell him later … maybe. If he had to. Or if his father asked.

"_That's OK. I suspect he wouldn't want a part in this conversation anyway. Have you loaned any thought to my offer?"_

"What offer?" Honey said innocently.

His father paused as if he wasn't sure if Honey was speaking in order to start a conversation or if he sincerely didn't know what he was talking about. _"About moving to America."_ he finally answered, _"I'm building the school there and you're the only one I'd consider to head it. I'd pay for everything and send accountants to handle the finances, all you'd have to do is recruit and train students."_

Honey leaned against the arm of the couch while his father rambled on and on about hiring a private tutor to teach him English and starting a worldwide chain of martial arts schools. The entire conversation was rhetorical and pointless. In this family – really, in any family of this class – if the family patriarch was asking you to make a decision, they were only doing so to be polite. The decision was already made for you.

"I don't know … " Honey said the second there was a gap in his dad's speech.

"_Mitsukuni, I won't take no for an answer. I can't go myself and Yasuchika isn't ready yet."_

Yes, there it was. The not-so-subtle hint that he didn't have a choice in the matter.

"_If you can have your things ready in about a week, that would be perfect."_ his father went on.

"A week?" Honey exclaimed, his eyes widening at the thought, "You said you wouldn't have everything in line for at least a month! And Kyo-Chan's party is next week!"

"_That's why I wanted to talk to you. My contacts in America called me today and already have a location lined up for purchase. All I have to do is make a couple more phone calls and it will all be set up."_ he explained, _"I can have the servants here pack the rest of your things, just tell me if there's anything extra you need. Kyoya's from a business family, too. I'm sure he'll understand."_

Honey bit his tongue against the string of whines and arguments that wanted to spill out. Was there something wrong with wanting to stay in Japan?

"_You can let Takashi know so you both can organize something and say good-bye to your friends sooner."_ he went on, _"It's not like you'll be gone forever."_

Yeah … right.

"_Think about it, will you?"_

"Sure, Dad. I'll talk to you later."

His father hung up the phone, no doubt because there was nothing left to say. Nor was there anything left to talk about.

_'A week … Just when I thought things were getting better.'_ a voice in his mind muttered.

He jumped when the cell phone rang again, and was more than tempted to pick it up and throw it against the wall. Couldn't he be left alone for a few minutes?

He took a breath to calm himself, picked up the phone, and made his voice thick with fake pleasantries, "Hello. Mitsukuni Haninozuka speaking."

"_Hi, Mitsukuni. It's Mine. Is Takashi around?"_ the voice of Mori's mother replied, her manner of speech so cheerful it was bordering on annoying.

"No, he's at work. He should have his cell phone with him."

"_He's not answering it, I was hoping you could put me in touch with him. Oh, well."_

He wished that she was in the room with him so she could see his glare. How could she be so pleasant? She was acting like nothing happened!

"_I did forget to ask you, Mitsukuni,"_ she went on, _"How long are you staying with Takashi?"_

"Oh, just until after the reunion party."

"_You remember what we talked about, right?"_

Here it goes. He wanted to be anywhere else but here right now, but hanging up would be rude. "Uh-huh." he answered.

"_It's not you, dear. And it's not Takashi, either. I've known about how he felt about men since he was in middle school. It's just … not proper for two cousins to date. I thought you should know so you could let him down easy."_

They weren't even blood relatives! If it wasn't for the marriage a couple generations ago, they probably wouldn't even be speaking to each other like this! Why did she have to be so …

"_I know he was really heartbroken over this boyfriend he had in middle school."_ she continued, pulling Honey from his train of thought, _"I thought it was just a phase at the time, but he never expressed much interest in women. But I'm hoping he'll snap out of it when he doesn't have anyone to dote over anymore. That's why your leaving is sort of a blessing in disguise, really ..."_

"Love isn't a phase!" Honey snapped. It was the first time he'd snapped at someone in a while when it wasn't out of morning crankiness or something similar, but he couldn't take it any longer.

"_Well, I never said it was. I just wanted to let you know … wait … why are you … you're not-"_

Honey hung up before she could finish the though, effectively preventing himself from snapping again (which he was sure he'd do). It _wasn't_ a phase! He refused to believe it. Their love was real, and …

He set the phone back down and took a seat on the couch, slumped over as if weighed down by his thoughts. It was hard to maintain this train of thinking by himself. When Mori was in the room, it was different. He felt like there was no place else he should be. Mori would be home soon and would reassure him. He'd see … he'd _know_ that Mine and whoever else didn't like what they had was wrong.

_'Love is love.'_ an inner voice reassured him, _'Don't let her get you down. What the two of you have is beautiful.'_

* * *

Later in the night, Honey flung a pan into the sink and turned on the faucet, extinguishing the flames that had shot up a few seconds earlier. Smoke and steam flew into the air, making his eyes water and his lungs contract. He allowed the water to run for a few seconds until the pan was cool and he'd stopped coughing before he dared a glance at the blackened pile of what was going to be a sort of curry stir-fry … now it looked like something that was left at the bottom of a barbeque pit for a few months.

He let out another cough and glanced at the wall clock … 7 PM. Even if this was a working night, Mori was late.

Just when he thought it was about time to curl up in bed (he hadn't taken a nap today, he'd been too stressed after the phone calls), he heard the front door open. Relieved that Mori was returning, he ran out of the kitchen and immediately tacked the man with a hug.

"Welcome home, Takashi!" he said, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I lost track of time." Mori said, returning the hug and lifting up the blond. Honey found it hard to be mad at him, especially after all that had happened today. He was just happy to have his boyfriend home. Halfway through their reunion hug, Mori wrinkled his forehead and sniffed the air, "Is something burning?"

Honey loosened his embrace and adverted his eyes, hoping Mori would be angry with him. "I tried to make dinner for you, but ..."

The taller man shook his head, making Honey believe he may have done something wrong until he caught the smile Mori was wearing. "There are some TV dinners in the freezer." he said, leaning forward for a quick kiss.

Honey grinned in relief, glad he wasn't in trouble. By now, he'd completely forgotten about his father's phone call. He wouldn't remember until that evening, when they were already in bed and Mori had fallen asleep. Even if he'd remembered sooner, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to bring himself to talk about the fact that he'd be leaving. Mori seemed so happy now that they were together. Besides, it would give him an extra day to think of how he'd deliver the news.

He had to almost brainwash himself to convince himself that everything would work out. It _always_ worked out in the end. He knew it would. Everything would be fine …


	11. Chapter 11

If you're good little readers, I might write a lemon next chapter. Of course, I might write it anyway if I'm in the mood. We'll see haha.

Longer delay than usual this time, partially due to having to survive finals week and having some trouble with my loans at school and partially for my computer going, "I'm not gonna work for you anymore LOL :D" a couple weeks ago. You all know I try as hard as I can but my real life comes first, so I politely ask you to be understanding.

* * *

Music theme for chapter - "Orchards of Mines" by Globus

**CHAPTER 11**

Mori was pouring over his work, the case file in front of him while he filtered through the paperwork for contacts, evidence in the photos people might have missed, lab results, and so on. It was tedious, but he felt like he was getting somewhere. Nobody had questioned the Ryuu's parents … or Ryuu, for that matter. Of course, it was usually difficult to get ahold of the victim's close acquaintances, since they were usually pretty shaken up by the crime, but if he could get some information out of him the guy ...

Just as he found a list of contacts and started skimming them for the number, a hand slapped itself down right on top of the paper. Mori looked up at the hand's owner, unable to glare like most would but the look on his face obviously questioning why the person was choosing to block him from doing his diligent work.

"Case is closed." Yukio stated bluntly, so bluntly that the words metaphorically whacked Mori on the forehead.

"Why?" he voiced, blinking slowly and carefully to show he wouldn't take an answer that would shrug him off and leave him with no real informatin.

"No leads, no suspects. Just another hate crime. Nothing we can do." Yukio replied, taking the liberty of not only slamming the file folder shut for him, but picking it up and carrying it back to the storage room.

"We haven't even tried." Mori replied as he got up from his seat and followed his partner across the rows of desks, "I haven't had a good look at the evidence or the crime scene ..."

"Forensics did that for you." Yukio fiddled with the keys at his belt to find the right one. Once he did, he unclipped the chain and unlocked the door to the file room. "No fingerprints, no DNA, couldn't even locate the murder weapon."

Impatient with how the conversation was going, Mori stepped between Yukio and the door before his friend could step inside. "That boy had a family and someone who loved him." he said in a slow, serious tone.

"And they know that there's nothing we can do, so they'll eventually move on with their lives." Yukio said in an equally slow, but obviously mocking voice.

Mori made a grab for the folder, but Yukio either saw it coming or was quick enough to dodge and duck under Mori's arm to get into the room (one of the disadvantages to being tall, apparently). The shorter officer went right for one of the file cabinets and tucked the folder in it's proper place as quickly as he could, letting Mori give him the "unamused stare" all the while.

"Aw, c'mon, man, don't give me that look." Yukio said as he emerged from the room, "Look, the upper side of the district is in some serious need of patrols and the Boss-Lady asked me to do it. Tag along and I'll buy you lunch or something."

Lacking much room to object, Mori dropped the annoyed look and went back to his desk to put a few things away. Within moments, the two were in a car driving north, their only real purpose to look menacing and keep people in line. It was probably the most boring part of the job. At least with desk work, you could know when you were getting somewhere.

Mori took the driver's seat, Yukio sat next to them. The drive to the section they were supposed to be patrolling was dead-silent and both of them liked it that way. For the time being, they had absolutely nothing to say to each other.

Eventually, they reached the part of the neighborhood where nobody likes cops. In every town, one could abide by the "window rule". If there are a lot of broken windows or windows with bars over them to prevent people from breaking them, then you're in a bad neighborhood. This town was certainly no exception, and the amount of graffiti and garbage on the street didn't exactly scream "welcome".

Mori picked up the sound of loud music playing and eventually came upon a group of five teenagers, all gathered around a boom box looking like they could conquer the world but didn't really think such a task was worthy of their time.

Two of them kept listening to the music, three of them looked up to glare at Mori and Yukio. Yukio sneered right back. He'd always suffered from a bit of an attitude problem, which was why Mori was usually the one assigned to do questioning and make phone calls whenever they were assigned an actual case.

Mori didn't see the harm in letting them be. They weren't actually doing anything illegal, after all. But as he started to drive away, he heard a loud thump come from behind them, as if something had hit the car.

"Did you see that?" Yukio snapped.

_'No, I was concentrating on the road.'_

"That's it, I'm telling those punks."

_'Why are you talking as if it's the last straw? They didn't do anything to begin with ... you're getting out of the car, never mind.'_

Mori watched Yukio quickly unbuckle the seat belt and step outside. Like a pack of lions defending their territory, the teenagers all stood upright to face him.

Mori figured he had no choice but to get out and make sure Yukio didn't do anything stupid. Upon stepping out, he discovered the remnants of a glass bottle that had been shattered against the car's bumper. He would have let it go, but he knew Yukio wouldn't.

"Which one of you threw this?" Yukio demanded, pointing at the broken glass.

"You ran over the bottle, man." One of the boys said, holding up his arms innocently, "We were just standing here."

He was obviously lying. Aside from his tone of voice, bottles don't just get up and throw themselves at the center of car bumpers.

"Bullshit. I know one of you threw it, now which one was it?"

_'Yukio ... please.'_ Mori sighed, his instinct to maintain a professional posture was the only thing keeping him from slapping his own forehead right now.

"You don't have any evidence, copper." the boy snapped, which only aggravated Yukio. The angry man started to move forward, but Mori took advantage of his longer legs and caught up easily, firmly taking Yukio by the shoulder and stopping him.

"Forget it." Mori said, "No harm done."

Yukio opened his mouth and made a face like he had an objection on the tip of his tongue, but decided against speaking and started back to the car instead. A relieved Mori started to follow, rather proud of the fact that he'd broken up the fight until one of the boys called out again.

"That's right, pig! Listen to your girlfriend and go home!"

At that next moment, several things happened at once. Yukio reached into his boot and withdrew a small object before swiveling around and beginning a charge at the teenager who had shouted the insult. Mori recognized what was happening and ran after Yukio, grabbing him just inches away from the kid, who was staring at the both of them with eyes the size of saucers. While Mori worked Yukio into a hold with his arms behind his back, the group of teenagers realized they were in over their heads and booked it in the opposite direction.

Yukio struggled against his hold. While Mori was stronger and bigger, Yukio was smaller and more agile. He slipped from Mori's arms, but not before the butterfly knife was knocked out of his hand and fell to the ground with a clatter.

"The hell, man? I could have hurt you." Yukio said while he flexed his shoulders, which had been left partially strained after their mini wrestling match.

"You could have hurt yourself." Mori said as he bent down and picked up the knife. As usual, he refused to let the emotions show in his voice: the worry for his friend, the concern over what would motivate Yukio into thinking this was something that was OK. Yukio wasn't a fool; he knew this could cost him his job. "I know you're not authorized to have this."

"Yeah, yeah, illegal for me to have weapons on the job, even more illegal for me to own that design of knife, blah blah blah. Are you going to lecture me like a doting mother or are you going to give me my knife back?"

Mori's features hardened ever so slightly. You wouldn't notice it at first, but his eyebrows lowered and his mouth twisted into a serious frown.

Yukio's expression softened in contrast. He smiled and sighed, "Come on, man. I wasn't going to hurt them, you know I wouldn't do that. I was just going to scare the crap out of them."

_'It's still wrong.'_ were the first words that came to Mori's mind. But he didn't speak them. He slowly opened his palm to uncover the blade in his hand.

"Thanks. See? You can trust me." Yukio said with a grin, taking his knife back. He tucked it back into his shoe before heading back to the car, waving for Mori to follow him. "Come on, I said I'd treat you to lunch, didn't I?

Mori hesitated. He was getting a bad feeling about all this. Something told him not to believe a word that Yukio said ... something less in his gut and more in the back of his mind, buzzing around like an annoying insect.

But he had to believe in something, right? It wasn't like Yukio had ever lied to him before. They'd been partners since he was first employed.

He went to the car without objection, letting Yukio drive this time.

* * *

Honey looked to the clock, feeling more and more nervous as the minutes passed by. He knew Mori wasn't exactly going to teleport home from work, but he was feeling more impatient than usual. He wanted badly to talk about the conversations he'd had with his father and Mori's mother earlier. If he could ask Mori to go with him to see his father, he might have the strength to tell the man that he didn't want to move. Aside from this, he just wanted to see his boyfriend again. To be held and kissed and told that everything would be OK by the taller man sounded like heaven right now.

And besides, it had been 30 minutes since his shift supposedly ended. _30 minutes!_ How long did it take to get from there to here?

Finally, he heard footsteps outside the door. He held himself back from getting excited (the last time, it turned out to be the neighbor from down the hall) until he heard keys jingling and the lock turning. He jumped from the couch and ran to tackle Mori, grinning all the while.

"Takashi! Welcome home!" he said, hanging off of Mori's neck like an oversized and affectionate piece of jewelry.

Mori returned the hug tightly ... tighter than usual.

Honey's smile disappeared.

"Takashi, is something wrong?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

Mori looked at him ... his eyes had a tenancy to say everything and give absolutely no information at the same time. Something was wrong, but Honey couldn't put his finger on it.

"Nothing." Mori answered. An obvious lie. He kept his arms wrapped around Honey, holding him up while the two stared at each other. "I'm happy to have you."

Honey grinned, finding it an acceptable answer ... or at least, a flattering one. Whatever was bothering him wasn't going to be shared, and the blond-haired man was completely distracted by the comment to pry any further.

"Awww ... I'm happy to have you, too."

"I'm sorry for being late yesterday. I didn't want to wake you up when I got home."

"It's OK." Honey said. He cuddled close, happy but bearing the knowledge that he couldn't bring up the subject of their parents just yet ... the moment was too sweet. "You just got caught up at work, that's all. You're a really hard worker, Takashi!"

Mori nuzzled his nose into Honey's hair, a subtle smile displayed. "Hey ... let's go out to eat." he said, which Honey recognized as his way of apologizing further, since he'd also missed the dinner Honey had cooked.

"Really? Sounds great!" Honey chimed, the enthusiasm ringing clear in his voice. Mori released his hold, letting Honey hop to the ground. "Hurry up and change out of your uniform, I wanna go!" he called as he rushed to the bedroom to get ready himself.

Mori couldn't stop smiling at the cheerfulness Honey gave wherever he went. Seeing Honey's happy face really did make his day. He changed as quickly as he could, selecting a clean but casual long-sleeved shirt to go out in.

Honey was waiting by the door by the time he returned, an eager expression on his face. The pair joined hands, interlacing their fingers together before leaving. With the feeling of Honey's hand in his own, Mori forgot about the earlier troubles of that day and chose instead to enjoy the blissful moment.

There was a small business district not far from Mori's apartment, the same part of town where "Usagi-San's Lair" resided. One of those places where the restaurants ranged from "you have to try this if you're visiting" to "are you sure this is even food why does it have a beak in it" and the only way to know for sure which was which was to go in and try it.

Mori was starting to feel better already. They ended up selecting a small sushi place where they split a few dishes, seeing what they liked. Neither was exactly stuffed by the end of the evening, but neither really cared. Hands locked, they left the restaurant a couple hours later completely oblivious to the occasional onlooker who raised an eyebrow at the sight of two men holding hands.

Halfway down the block from the sushi place where they'd eaten, Honey stopped. "Hey, I have an idea!" he said as if he'd just thought of the most brilliant thing in the world. He abruptly turned to cross the street, and with his hand still hanging onto Mori's, the taller man had no choice but to follow.

Honey led the way across the street into a shopping mall. The mall was always crowded. The fact that it was a summer night helped in this case, too. Teenagers were everywhere, wasting away their vacation by hanging out with friends in the food court or shopping for clothes.

Mori wasn't sure where Honey intended to take him, but he followed as faithfully as always. The pair had always been close in this sense ... consistent trust and faith, each one blindly believing in the other because he knew he wouldn't be led astray. Thinking of it made Mori feel a little safer.

When he saw the rapidly approaching photo booth, he figured out what Honey's intentions were. Honey dragged him up and shoved him through the black curtain before hopping in himself. Mori stumbled for a minute before landing ungracefully on the bench inside.

"I'll pay but you have to smile at least once." Honey stated as he fished out some coins from his wallet.

Mori smiled, of course. Would there ever be a request that he wouldn't grant Honey? Honey sat on Mori's lap for the first picture ... kissed him on the cheek for the second ... they locked lips for the third ... a total of six pictures which Honey couldn't wait to see. He and Mori hopped out of the photo booth, but Mori had to freeze at what he saw outside.

The green eyes glanced at the strip of pictures hanging outside the booth before turning back to him and giving him a serious look. Honey glared. Mori maintained his calm.

"Hello, Yukio." he said, hiding his surprise at finding his friend here.

Yukio smiled pleasantly, changing his mood as if nothing had happened. "Hey, Takashi-Kun. Just passing through. Saw the photos and thought, 'man, no way'. But sure enough, here you are."

Mori didn't have to look at Honey to know how much the blond was giving Yukio the death stare. He almost felt bad for the guy; Honey was the definition of "If looks could kill". Wanting to prevent any misunderstandings because of his boyfriend's foul attitude towards Yukio, Mori gave a quick bow. "It was nice to see you, but it's late."

"I understand, of course." Yukio said with a casual wave of his hand, "I need to head home myself. See you later."

Honey tore his eyes away and began walking off with Mori, getting all of ten steps away before he heard Yukio's annoying voice again. "Hey, don't forget these." he called. Honey turned to see him waving the strip of photos.

Honey gave a nod to Mori to signal that he'd go grab them. He jogged over, wanting to get the photos and leave as quickly as possible. But upon trying to take the pictures, he discovered Yukio's hand wouldn't release them. He tried to be civil, knowing Mori was watching, and when he looked up he noticed the unpleasant stare was back on Yukio's face.

"If you hurt him, I won't give you the chance to regret it."

Honey blinked, not sure how much faith to put in those words. He wasn't scared in the slightest, he knew he could take Yukio with both hands tied behind his back, but the sentence still bothered him. Worse yet was the fact that it was Mori's friend ... and Mori's was waiting for him. He could feel his boyfriend's eyes on him, waiting for them to leave.

He didn't want to cause a scene. Without responding to the threat, he took the pictures and left.


	12. Chapter 12

Didn't think I was gonna update, eh? Yeah, well … neither did I. College and real-life in general have kept me busy, but things seem to be settling down now and I don't believe in excuses. Bottom line: I'm here now and I'll try my hardest. I can't say when the next update will be, but I still don't want to give up on this story.

I'm also thinking of abandoning the Live Journal and getting a Tumblr … you kids these days like Tumblr, right?

Anyway, enjoy the lemon. Obvious metaphor is obvious.

* * *

Music theme for chapter - "Will I?" from the musical RENT

**CHAPTER 12**

Honey scurried through the grocery store like a mouse hiding from humans. He had no idea where he was going but was far too mortified to ask for directions.

Every aisle he went down ... aisles that contained milk, eggs, candy, CDs, books, movies ... none of them were helpful. Somehow the people who designed the store managed to make it so people looking for this particular object had to walk to the back of the store, past every other shopper, in order to find it.

Electronics, appliances, kitchenware.

Greeting cards, soap, shaving cream.

Shampoo, styling gel, makeup.

Ah, there they were.

Condoms.

He felt dirty just looking at them. And so many to choose from ... was there one in particular he was supposed to pick?

How did _anyone_ know what they were doing when they came to this aisle?

The only thing that prevented him from standing there for hours trying to decide was the fact that he really, _really_ didn't want to be seen here.

He spied a box where the picture on the front looked vaguely like the one he and Mori had used their first time, grabbed it, and swiftly tucked it into the bottom of his basket.

Heart pounding in his chest, he tried to walk as casually as he could manage to the check-out line. Just as he was nearing the front, a sense of relief almost ready to wash over him, he felt a tap on his shoulder that nearly made him jump right out of his skin. A quick spin around revealed a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a familiar inquisitive face.

"Kyo-Chan!" He exclaimed in delight. The contraband in his basket forgotten for the moment, his usually Honey-esque attitude returned and his arms wrapped around Kyoya's in a friendly embrace.

"Nice to see you, too, Honey." Kyoya replied, returning the hug with a professional (but not unfamiliar) pat on the back, "I trust all is well?"

"Uh-huh!" He said with a nod, "Heard you're gonna graduate soon! Bet Tama-Chan's really excited for you!"

"Yes, I think he's planning some sort of surprise party for the graduation. Everyone from the old Host Club ambushing me after the ceremony or something along those lines."

A large sweat drop fell down Honey's face, his eyes widening into an expression between disbelief and panic. "I, uh … I wouldn't know about that, Kyo-Chan." He said, his nervousness obvious.

"There's no need to look so speechless." He said with a shrug, "First, I see Kaoru driving towards the bus station, then I see Haruhi and Hikaru waiting _at_ the bus station, then I run into you at the grocery store a few blocks from Mori's apartment. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Honey gave a little frown, "Jeez, Kyo-Chan. Way to spoil the fun. You can be kind of snoopy sometimes, you know."

"Oh, relax, I'll act surprised so as not to ruin everyone's good time. And I know Tamaki's intentions were the best, I appreciate the thought."

"What about me?" Honey whined, "Now I know you know and it's all because you're such a gossip!"

Kyoya chuckled, "Sorry, guess I do have a tendency to gossip a little. So what's with the condoms?"

Honey stiffened. Damn it! Didn't Kyoya get the point when he mentioned gossiping? "What condoms?"

"The ones in your basket … Oh, sorry, I did it again, didn't I?"

Honey took a deep breath, trying to relax himself. It's OK … it _was_ Kyoya he was talking to. He could tell one of his close friends about him and Mori, couldn't he?

But … not here. A simple glance at the cashier and the other customers told him that was a bad idea. "Pay for your things and I'll explain later." He mumbled.

"Alright, I'll walk you outside and we can talk there."

A few beeps from the cash register later, they were walking outside, the discomfort handing in the air like a dead fish. Honey wasn't ready for this. Already, he felt the urge to retreat and hide in Mori's apartment where it was safe. A deep breath calmed him down and the fresh air outside calmed him as well … he'd have to face this sometime …

"I should let you know something, Kyoya."

Kyoya leaned against the cement wall outside the store, "Just say it."

Honey swallowed hard, "Well, Takashi and I … a couple nights ago, we were drunk and … well, one thing led to another and …" He trailed off, his sentences already too spaced out for him to stand it anymore. He stared at Kyoya, begging for a response of some kind.

"I see …" Kyoya replied, adjusting his glasses. Honey bit his lip. Sure, Kyoya was one of the few people in the world he trusted to understand, but it was still nerve-wracking to openly admit to something like this. After a second, however, that familiar smile appeared on Kyoya's face. "Well, I'm glad for you." He said.

"R-really?" Honey said, his eyes sparkling with relief and delight.

"Of course. You think I'm living with Tamaki for his money? I know what it's like for fall in love. I'm happy for both of you."

Honey grinned, his heart soaring almost as much as it did when he was around Mori. He was ready to jump up and hug Kyoya again until he noticed the man's expression suddenly turn solemn. Kyoya's hand gently fingered his wrist, where a scar was visible and the occasional twinge reminded him of what he'd been through.

"Just … be careful, will you?" Kyoya said, "There are a lot of bad people out there."

"How many have you dealt with?"

"Too many to count. They faded into the background as time went by, but I'm still afraid to hold Tamaki's hand in public. People at school still occasionally cough 'fag' as I walk by … most of them have figured out that neither of us care what they think, but that doesn't stop them from talking."

Honey's smile quickly faded. Or, more accurately, was replaced by another fake one that awkwardly plastered itself on his face. For the sake of his own sanity, he tried his own form of optimism. "But things are getting better." He pointed out, "There's bars and whole communities that are starting to accept gay people."

"In other countries, yes, it's become more acceptable. France, Great Britain, certain parts of America, but Japan is still a little behind. America has had gay bars for decades, the few in Tokyo only sprung up over the past few decades."

The fake smile started to falter now. Kyoya was really making it hard to look at the positive. Sensing Honey's sudden change in mood, Kyoya looked down at his friend and smiled. "Hey, don't look so heartbroken." He said, "I just don't want to see you go through what we did, OK? But no matter what, if you believe it will get better, then it will."

Honey felt his heart jump up a little at the thought. As long as he believed, it would get better? Yeah, he could get on board with that. Hope makes everything better.

"Oh, and uh … you might want to invest in some lube, too. Tamaki tells me it helps." Kyoya added.

Honey's hopestarting to rise up a little more, picking up his chin and dropping it down in a little nod at Kyoya's advice. "Okay, Kyo-Chan! See you later!" he said with a wave. So occupied was he with trying to keep his mood cheerful, that it wasn't until Kyoya had already started to walk off that he realized some of the unintended subtext behind Kyoya's statement.

"Wait … 'Mommy' is on top?"

* * *

Sweat caused by a stuffy summer heat glistened on Mori's forehead. The lazily turning overhead fan did nothing to remedy the humidity that snuck its way into the police station that day. But regardless of the conditions, the dedicated man poured himself over his work.

He needed more information on the case. Yuuka's death was no accident, obviously, but he was sure it was no random hate crime either. There had to be a lead somewhere.

Two muttering voices could be heard coming from the other side of the room. Mori could make out a few of the words sentences; "Been at it for days" and "doesn't he know it's been dropped?"

Of course he knew it had been dropped. Of _course_ he knew. It had been haunting him days! But he had to try.

He couldn't try without more information, though. Skimming the front pages of the case file again, he finally located the number that he was looking for and dialed it.

"Ryuu Honda?" He asked when the phone was answered.

"_Yeah, that's me. Who is this?"_ Answered a young male voice.

"This is Officer Morinozuka, I'd like to ask you a few questions about Yuuka."

"_Oh for __fucks__ sake! I thought the case was dropped!"_

His eyes widened, taken aback by the sudden, hostile tone he was met with. Still trying to maintain professionalism, he went on, "Well, I've been looking into the case and-"

"_Listen, man,"_ Ryuu interrupted, _"Nobody knows who did it, OK? And nobody can figure it out, either. It was just some sick fucks that Yuu-Chan was unlucky enough to run into."_

"Sir, I understand, but-"

"_No, dude, no, y-you don't understand."_ Ryuu went on, his voice faltering from what Mori quickly figured out was the effort of choking back tears, _"There's nothing anyone can do or could have done. W-why the f-fuck do you insist on pursuing it? Not every case can be solved, so just … just leave us to mourn, why don't you?"_

Wide-eyed and mouth open a crack, Mori could do little more than stare into space at the unexpected response. Now on auto-pilot, he responded with a polite, "OK, Sir. Thank you for your time." before hanging up without another word.

His heart seemed to turn to stone and pull his own organs down into the pit of his stomach. His eyes were glued to the table for a few moments and probably would have stayed there were they not startled by a hand slamming down on his desk. After a jump, he looked up to meet Yukio's twisted face.

"I told you to drop it, didn't I? What the fuck is your problem?"

Mori's mouth buttoned up at the stern tone. That was the same tone he'd expect to hear from his mother when he was in trouble … a tone almost anyone is trained to obey. Being from an upper-class family, he'd learned the tone better than most.

Mori gave a submissive glance to Yukio, but the apologetic face didn't seem to faze him. "Who are you anymore? You used to be a pretty chill guy but ever since that Mitzukuni-kid came into down, you've been getting more and more introverted."

_'It's not his fault … I've been stressed over this case.'_

"And that's not even the worst of it. When you're not rushing home to blow time with him, you're pouring over this case. This _closed_ case I might add! You're obsessed!" Yukio went on.

"Yukio, please, you're making a scene." he said, hoping to god no one was watching.

"I hope I do! You used to actually be interesting and now you're just … weird!"

As if summoned by Mori's warning, the sound of the chief of police snapping, "Sasaki-San!" was heard from the front of the cubicle-cramped room. Yukio's jet-black hair flipped up and down as his head darted from their chief and back to Mori a few times. He finally decided to obey the summon of his boss, but not without shooting Mori and extra dagger-shooting glare as he walked away.

He didn't see Yukio for the rest of the day. All he tried to think about was how he would see Honey once he was home. It was the only thing he could do to keep the pit in his stomach from returning.

* * *

The threat from the previous night momentarily forgotten, Mori and Honey were now laying in bed with little care in the world and no focus on anything other than each other. Their lips locked, Honey's tongue pushed its way inside Mori's mouth and began roaming.

Nothing of interest had happened at work that day … at least, nothing worth noting right now. He could think about it later.

Nothing existed but the pair of them and the surface beneath and even that was only there to make sure that they wouldn't fall down. Mori felt a wandering hand make its way further and further down until it slipped into his pants.

The pants were unbuttoned and swept away, the unwanted clothing left on the floor.

Mori gasped when he felt Honey's hand start stroking his length. He heard the distant sound of Honey rummaging around under the bed for something, though most of his mind was concentrated on the fact that he wasn't getting any attention while it was happening.

Honey popped up a second later, holding in his hand a small bottle of lube and a square package. Mori stared for a second until a small smile crept onto his face.

"When did you …" he began.

Honey just grinned and went down on him again, rubbing their lengths together. Mori's heart pounded faster with each new surge of pleasure, and his eyes slowly closed in ecstasy while Honey began nipping at his collarbone. He shivered whenever a particularly sensitive area was found while Honey worked his way down … down … nipping at his chest … stomach. When the inside of his thigh was chewed on, he swore he might go mad. His hands gripped at the sheets and his eyes sealed shut to stop himself from making too much noise.

Finally, he felt Honey's mouth wrap around his hardened cock, swallowing it from root to tip. One hand moved to cover his mouth and stop him from crying out; the other searched for something to hold onto and buried itself in the mass of blond hair below.

Honey's mouth sucked, his tongue swirled around the end of Mori's cock, leaving the taller man swimming in so much pleasure that he barely noticed the two slick fingers enter him until the jolt of pleasure hit him. God … when did he get so _good_?

He tried to maintain his composure again, pursing his lips and eyes shut even through the waves of pleasure. Honey, however, seemed bound and determined to break that façade and continued to tease both Mori's inner pleasure zone and his cock simultaneously. Finally, just as he thought he might go insane, he found himself bucking into Honey's mouth while his entire body stiffened and he groaned with the force of his orgasm.

He collapsed back into the bed, feeling as if he might melt into the mattress. He was only allowed enough time to catch his breath before Honey moved again. He wasn't aware of what was going on (or more accurately: he was, but he didn't lend it any thought), he just felt a pair of hands guide his hips around until he was turned onto his stomach, and he went with the flow while they were lifted, gently forcing him onto his knees.

He allowed a gasp to escape as Honey entered him. The blond wasted no time in moving, apparently very excited to find his own release. He didn't neglect Mori, however. Mori felt a hand wrap around his cock and start stroking to allow him to climax even faster.

"Mitsukuni, I-" he started to pant. The thought was never finished, lost in a series of pants and moans coming from both lovers.

Again, he lost his composure as he climaxed alongside Honey, this time throwing his head back and moaning in unison with the blond. Both lovers collapsed, panting in a tired heap. They decided to lie that way for a moment until they caught their breath. Before long, Honey decided it was time to pull out and cuddle close to his boyfriend. Once he did, Mori wrapped his arms around the smaller man and pulled the blankets up to cover them. Within seconds, both were fast asleep.

* * *

There was a cloaked figure in front of him.

Around him appeared to be a forest with no colors. It was filled with mist, and rather than trees, there seemed to exist only black silhouettes. Between the silhouettes, where blue sky or leafy greens would normally be, there was just more gray mist that served to cover everything else that might have been there.

He was hunched over, something very heavy balancing on his back, forcing him to slouch dramatically.

He looked up, having to move as slow as a sloth due to the weight he was carrying. The very effort of trying to meet the cloaked figured face left him heaving his breaths.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?" he asked.

The figure didn't respond.

Mori bowed his head.

"Please …" he rasped.

The hooded figure raised a hand and pointed a single finger into the distance. Mori struggled to look behind him and see what was being indicated.

It was Honey … walking away.

Mori tried to move, desperate to stop him, desperate to tell him not to go, only to discover that whatever was on his back was too heavy. He couldn't even lift his feet from the ground, let alone chase after his friend.

"Mitsukuni!" he called in vain, receiving no response. He was too winded to shout properly as it was.

Feeling helpless and useless, he turned back to the cloaked figure, still panting and sweating, this time from a combination of fear and exhaustion.

"Why?" he choked, feeling tears start to form, "Why? Why can't you just leave me alone? He's the most important thing in the world to me … he's all I have."

"You need to wake up, Takashi."

"No … No, I'm not waking up until you answer me!"

"Open your eyes, Takashi."

"No, no, you can't make me!"

"Wake up … Open your eyes."

"NO!"

"Open your eyes."

"STOP CONTROLLING ME!"

He was awoken by his own scream, shouting the last words into reality and finding himself half-coated in his own sweat.

A night terror … it was almost as embarrassing as the first night he and Honey had slept together.

He heard footsteps followed by Honey appearing at the side of the bed, looking nearly as panicked as he was. "Takashi, are you OK? I heard screaming." He said, clearly mortified to find his normally calm boyfriend so upset.

Takashi gave himself a second to catch his breath, having to go from hyperventilating to panting to just breathing heavily.

"Just a dream." He answered after a second, diverting his eyes from Honey's gaze.

Honey frowned. Mori was lying again, but … he didn't want to push his friend, either. He just wanted Mori to tell him what was wrong on his own terms.

He cupped Mori's cheek with his hand and forced the man to face him, gazing deep into the dark eyes before giving his lover a quick but passionate kiss. Hopefully, it would get the message across. If nothing else, he noted it cheered Mori up. The taller man wrapped his arms around Honey and gave the blond a tight hug, hiding his face in the head of yellow hair.

Content without words as always, the two lay back down and forgot about their worries. Honey happily curled against Mori's chest while Mori absently wove his fingers between the locks of Honey's hair and petted it.

Moments like these could either fly or last forever, and both men liked to hope they lasted forever. Before too long, though, Honey broke the silence with a question that had been eating at him all day.

"Takashi … how many people have you slept with?"

Mori didn't respond for a few seconds, as if he were mulling over the question in his mind.

"You first." He said.

Honey heaved a sigh, "Well, before Dad let me take over a teaching position, there were … three; one girl, two boys that were all other students. It was really just young curiosity, not love or anything, but … yeah … you?"

"Counting you … One."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I took your virginity."

It was Mori's turn to sigh now. He hooked his hand under Honey's chin and brought the man's head up for a kiss. "I don't want anyone else to have it." He said, pulling Honey in for a tight hug, "Even if something somehow went wrong and we never spoke again, I would never regret any of this."

Honey smiled, a light pink blush scattering over his cheeks. "You mean it?"

"I promise. And if you ever feel otherwise, just leave me a sign."

An ear-to-ear smile appeared, Honey's heart soaring like it never had before. "I will." He promised.

A few more minutes of silence spent in their own little sanctuary. Neither could think of anything more to say.

For the moment, things were perfect, and both men would have given anything for time to freeze.


	13. Chapter 13

Music theme for chapter – "Cherish" by Ai Ohtsuka

* * *

**CHAPTER 13  
**

The ceiling fan churned lazily. The clock on the wall clock ticked with the speed of algae growing on a sloth's back. Mori heaved a sigh and attempted to balance a pencil on his fingertip. Nothing interesting was happening. Yukio hadn't even shown up to annoy him today – a matter which he found unusual, but not exactly shocking considering his outburst towards their boss yesterday.

Speaking of bosses, no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than did he see his boss making her way across the room. Her hair was tied back into a tight ponytail, making her look as stiff as ever, but looking as bored as everyone else.

"Excuse me." He said to her as she passed, "Where's Yukio?"

"I decided Sasaki-San needed some 'time off'." She explained before swiftly going about her duties. Something about the way she said 'time off' made it clear that it was anything _but_ a simple vacation. He swallowed, hoping that his partner's possible suspension wouldn't reflect on his own perfect record in any way.

_Vrrr-vrrr-vrr_ went the cell phone in his pocket. Now, normally, he wouldn't answer his personal phone at work, but seeing as there was absolutely nothing else to keep him occupied at his post, he decided to make an exception to the rule.

"Hello?" he greeted.

"_Ah, Takashi."_ Mori instantly recognized the voice of Honey's father speaking, _"I'm sorry to bother you in the middle of the day like this, but Mitsukuni isn't answering his phone. I need to remind him about the time of the flight tomorrow and tell him what all he should pack. Now if he leaves anything behind, don't worry, I can send for it and ship it to him."_

Mori felt his heart jump into his chest. His mind instantly went into denial. "F-flight?" he echoed. Honey was going away? Just for a vacation, right? He'd be back even before Kyoya's party.

"_Yes, I'm opening up a new dojo in America. I know I mentioned it to your mother, did Mitsukuni neglect to tell you? He's going to be the sensei there."_

As if on a roller coaster, his heart went from his throat all the way down to his ankles. Mori's eyes widened without really seeing anything. Honey … moving to America? Why hadn't he heard about this?

"_In any case, could you have him call me when you see him next?"_

"Y-yes. I'll so that, Sir." Mori replied, snapping out of his slack-jawed gaze long enough for a pre-programmed reply.

"_Thank you. I knew I could rely on you, Takashi."_

Click.

Mori set down the phone slowly, as if it would shatter on the tabletop if he wasn't careful. His mind was still processing the information. Honey … moving … to America … to the other side of the ocean … forever.

Why? Why hadn't he heard about this? He ran his fingers through his hair, gritted his teeth, and tried to figure out what he was supposed to do from here.

He glanced around the room. Nobody watching him. Good. Nobody to report him for making a personal phone call on the job.

He dialed Honey's number and waited until he heard a greeting on the other end. The voice, however, was the biggest shock he'd received in a long time.

"_Hello, Morinozuka-San."_ Said Yukio.

"Y-Yukio?" He gasped. Stammering seemed to be in his nature today.

"_Jeez, I thought I'd be waiting until you got home. Do you know how boring it is here? I didn't even bring a book."_

"Where's Honey? What are you doing with his phone?"

"_Hey, calm the __fuck__ down, man."_ He said, his tone suddenly going from eerily friendly to hostile, _"I've had enough of you and your whore's bullshit. You want the answer? Get your ass down to your apartment in the next hour. Oh, and come alone. If I see anyone with you … well … I can't guarantee how pretty his face will be when you see him again."_

* * *

Honey had grown accustomed to washing dishes. The first time he'd tried was at Haruhi's house, during one of Tamaki's brilliant plans to help her out. As it turns out, six rich high school students, no matter how determined they are, really have no business "surprising" their commoner friend by doing all the chores around the house. This time, however, he was prepared. He didn't make a bigger mess than they started out with and by now he'd figured out what the scrub brush and dish detergent were for.

He was quite proud of himself by the time he'd finished and laid down on the couch for a rest. Coming home to a clean house would make it a little easier to talk to Mori. He still wasn't sure about what he'd tell his father, but in a high-class family, there wasn't any arguing with your elders. On the one hand, Honey's father had already decided that he was going. On the other hand, Honey was holding onto some hope that if he and Mori worked together to explain why he wanted to stay in Japan, his father might understand.

The jiggle of brass against wood was heard. That doorknob never was installed right and the misplaced sound caused Honey's muscles to stiffen with a trained instinct. He bolted up from the couch and turned to the door in time to see a greasy-haired intruder enter.

"Yukio Sasaki!" he said with a climactic tone that would have made Tamaki proud.

Yukio flashed a set of teeth and removed an object from his pocket. A quick click indicated the presence of a butterfly knife.

Honey was small and agile. His years of training under martial arts masters never went to waste. However, behind his baggy eyes, Yukio hid a mind wrought with insanity that made even his halfhearted attacks bloodthirsty. His fragile state of mind combined with the obstacle courses and weight training the police academy had put him through meant he wasn't an opponent to underestimate. Honey could deduce this easily, but not nearly quick enough. He barely dodged the first lunge, the knife grazing the fabric of the couch instead of his skin.

"Come here, you whore." Yukio growled as he turned back towards his opponent, "Cooperate and no one gets hurt."

"Meanie! What are you doing here?"

Yukio didn't bother with a verbal answer. He lunged again and a quick sidestep saved Honey from injury once again. He wasn't prepared to see Yukio lunge again and, caught off-guard, found himself tumbling onto the ground. A flurry of scuffling ensued, dragging the pair around the living room floor until Yukio, using his size to his advantage, managed to pin down Honey with the knife to his cheek.

"Now listen here-" He began before a cell phone chime stopped him in mid-sentence. Time seemed to freeze as two sets of eyes travelled to a spot two feet away. Honey's cell phone had fallen from his pocket and the contact on the front read, "Takashi".

Before Honey could think of a way to struggle loose, Yukio's hand darted for the phone.

"Hello, Morinozuka-San … Jeez, I thought I'd be waiting until you got home. Do you know how boring it is here? I didn't even bring a book …"

Honey stared daggers at Yukio. That bastard! He was going to lure Mori here!

"Hey, calm the fuck down, man. I've had enough of you and your whore's bullshit. You want the answer? Get your ass down to your apartment in the next hour. Oh, and come alone. If I see anyone with you …" Honey felt the cold blade sink into his skin a little before Yukio went on, "Well … I can't guarantee how pretty his face will be when you see him again."

If Honey's emotions could control the weather, the next ice age would be on its way. In fact, the second Yukio hung up the phone it seemed that the moisture in the air froze. A cold storm of Honey's vengeance was on the horizon, and Yukio had nowhere to hide.

A few blocks away, an innocent pedestrian had the shock of her life when he heard an explosion.

* * *

Back at the police station, Mori was having a near-complete mental meltdown. Flashbacks to the news of his first lover flashed through his mind, taking every worst-case scenario and planting it in his mind. What if Honey was already dead? How scared was he? Was he crying? Was he angry?

Mori wanted to get up and run, but his heart pounded so intensely that his chest was in pain. He didn't dare try to stand or he's risk falling. For several minutes, he just tried to regain his cool and think logically.

"Takashi-San, there's something you should know."

He was snapped out of his trance by the voice of his supervisor.

"What is it?" he asked, straightening up and trying again to calm himself.

"There's something you should know. We just received a call from a man who lives in your apartment complex."

* * *

Honey heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. He'd been sitting in the living room for an hour and a half now doing nothing but going over paperwork and answering questions. He wanted to see Mori, but when he'd asked about it, one of the cops had calmly explained that Mori would be allowed to see him once their investigation was over.

His arm was getting sore from holding an ice pack over his cheek. Underneath, some EMTs had covered his cut with a bandage and the pain was unnoticeable by now. The cut didn't even need stitches.

He felt world of relief when he finally heard the words, "Alright, I that's all we need from you for now."

Honey sat at attention, excited simply because this meant he'd be allowed to see his lover.

The cop that had been questioning him bowed respectfully, "We'll take care of it from here, but we'll call you with any more information we get. Have a good night, Sir."

"Yes, good night." Honey said, standing and bowing good-bye.

The man left his house with the same speed and enthusiasm as tree sap dripping on a hot summer day. A few seconds after he left, the doorknob turned again, and Mori stepped into the apartment. He all but dove for Honey, grabbing the man in the world's most romantic and stress-relieving bear hug.

Honey returned the hug, rubbing Mori's back until the taller man's shaking body began to calm itself.

"I was so worried." Mori said, "What happened? Why didn't you call me?"

"I'm sorry." Honey said as a stream of tears began to flow from his eyes, "He had me pinned when you called and …" He choked before continuing, "And when the fight was over, my phone had been crushed. The neighbor called the police, they got here before I could do anything else. I'm so sorry, Takashi, I-"

Mori's eyes were as wide as saucer plates by the time he placed his thumb over Honey's mouth to stop his rambling. "I don't want to lose you, Mitzukuni."

"You won't, Takashi."

"Then … I want you to go to America with your father tomorrow."

Honey felt his heart jump into his throat before doing a backflip and sinking into the pit of his stomach like an Olympic diver. "Where did you hear about that?" he snapped.

"You father called me at work. Mitzukuni, I can't lose you like I did Darrel. If being with you means attacks like these, it's better if-"

"Better if WHAT?" Honey interjected, "Better if you break up with me? I handled myself fine and I'll do it a million times over if it means staying with you."

Mori's face twisted into what was quite possibly the most emotion he'd shown in the past year. Eyebrows furrowed and eyes glazed over, as usual, saying everything it needed to without Mori having to speak any words.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Honey scoffed, hiding his sadness behind anger, and doing a horrible job of it as more tears began to freely flow, "Fine! You were the only thing that would have kept me in Japan anyway!"

"Mitzukuni, please …" Mori tried to run a hand through his hair, but found himself being pushed away with enough force to shove him into the wall.

"I'll catch the first bus out tomorrow morning! Don't even talk to me!" He shouted before stomping off to the bedroom and slamming the door behind him. From outside the door, the sound of shuffling and packing could be heard.

Mori stared into space for what felt like an eternity. He tried to think of what to do or what to say, but found himself unable to form a complete thought. It took him several minutes to even realize he'd been sitting on the floor the entire time. Once his lost mind realized this, he figured it wasn't doing him any good to just sit here.

Figuring a walk would clear his head, he left the apartment and wasn't sure he'd be able to come back until Honey was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

OMG IT'S SO AFTER-SCHOOL SPECIAL. Well, that's kinda the idea, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Short chapter simply so that I could write it quick and not leave people with a crueler cliffhanger than usual.

* * *

Music theme for chapter – "Faithfully" by Journey

**Chapter 14**

The clock struck midnight, and he was alone, and the cold night air nipped at his cheeks. The city was dead, the street lights flickered, and Mori found himself walking through a park that was across the street from his apartment.

He stopped under a cherry tree and sat at a bench, his eyes fixated first on the grass, then on the branches of the tree, completely covered in unopened flower buds.

He was tired, it was quiet, and within seconds he found himself drifting off.

* * *

Water …

Surrounded by it …

He panicked and began wildly kicking his feet. The second he breached the surface, his lungs filled with air and he clamored for a piece of nearby driftwood. Once he caught his breath, he looked at his surroundings, and the sight of water stretching as far as the eye could see beheld him.

"Drifting, Takashi? You have really cliché dreams."

He looked next him. Sitting on a raft beside him was a young brunette boy. The familiar face was carrying a burden that caused his lips to pull into a frown. Even with the sad look on his face, the sight of Darrel with a glorious pair of angel wings behind him was enough to make all the old feelings of regret return.

"I'm sorry." Mori said.

"What for?"

"I ..." He trailed off, realizing for the first time that he wasn't sure why he was apologizing.

"I'm not angry with you if that's what you're worried about. I'm only sad because you won't move on."

Mori raised an eyebrow, now thoroughly confused.

"Takashi, I'm dead. I've spent more than ten years watching you beat yourself up over something you couldn't help. I wasn't sad to die, it was my time. I was only sad to watch you blame yourself, curl up in a ball, and cry yourself to sleep at night. It hurt me more than anything. When Honey came into the picture, I thought maybe you'd move on and I'd be able to see you happy again. And all your other friends, too. God, Takashi, I was so happy for you! But you were still beating yourself up inside … I'm glad you used the guilt to help Kyoya and Tamaki when they needed it, but I'd sooner you just … move on. Part of being alive is the joy of finding new love, not dwelling on lost love."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I tried! Damn it, Takashi, I was with the both of you every second! When I couldn't get through to you, I was whispering in Honey's ear, asking him questions that he should have been asking himself. I'm sorry about the nightmares, but I couldn't stop them, I was desperate to get through to you and they were sort of a side-effect."

"And Yukio?"

"Mostly I was trying to communicate how blind you were being to Honey's feelings, but yes, I could tell he was up to no good and tried to warn you from the start."

"But you're not mad."

"Not even at Yukio. Not even at the person who killed me."

"Not at me?"

A short silence ensued in which Darrel's eyes widened in surprise, "Why would I be mad at you?"

"You tried to talk to me and I didn't listen. You haven't passed over because I couldn't shake my guilt. You said it yourself."

"Takashi … I've enjoyed watching you these past years. Yes, it's been … frustrating. Occasionally, painful. But overall, I'm happy. You've made friends, you've learned, you've loved. You've grown up. You're not the kid I dated in middle school … are you, 'Mori'?"

He smiled. Somehow, the thought of how much he'd grown was comforting. "You'll move on now?" He asked, thirsty for just a little more closure.

"I've got a spot reserved for me in some sort of afterlife." Darrel said with a wink.

Mori's grin became a little wider before fading again with sudden realization, "Am I supposed to move on as well? I've tried, I'm sorry but I can't."

"I don't expect you to move on right away." Darrel said with a shrug, "I never did. If you just up and forget about someone who died, that's even more disrespectful than … well, anything."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Just … live. You're alive, and being alive is wonderful. Don't stop living just because someone died, live _for_ them. Live so they can be happy for you when they see you again. I'm not your lover anymore, Takahi. Honey is, and he's alive, too. He needs you to be alive a hundred times more than I do."

Mori's eyes widened, "Mitsukuni! I let him go!"

"It's not too late. I thought you learned, while you were in the Host Club, that nothing is impossible. You just have to believe in yourself."

The smile returned as quickly as it came. Just like that, Mori felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. Seeing the smile, Darrel looked pleased, and set a comforting hand on Mori's shoulder.

"Now …" Darrel said, "Open your eyes."

* * *

Mori's eyes opened. The first sight that beheld him was a thousand cherry blossoms, now in full bloom with the morning sun. When realization struck him that it was morning, he looked in the direction of his apartment building in time to see a bus pulling away.

Knowing what he had to do, he stood and began running.


	15. Chapter 15

I totally just ripped off There She Is and I don't care.

I haven't decided if this is the last chapter or not.

* * *

Music theme for chapter – "Imagine" by Brunch

**Chapter 15**

Throughout the Morinozuka's family history, there were many occasions in which a Morinozuka risked their own life to save one of the Haninozuka family members that they served. There was Akira Morinozuka, infamous for saving one of the Haninozuka children from a hungry wolf. There was Seiji Morinozuka, who reacted quickly enough to save his master from a poisonous snake bite. There was Yasuo Morinozuka, who was said to have gone into a burning building to save a Haninozuka family member.

Of all the Morinozukas who experienced a moment of desperation, a heart-jolting realization so intense that they had to act instantly, none of them experienced anything close to the desperation Mori felt at that moment.

Mori ran. He ran as if his life depended on it and with every step he took, the bus only moved further away.

Every breath he took was purposeful and determined, every pedestrian in his way was swiftly sidestepped and occasionally bumped if they couldn't be moved around. Nothing was going to stand in his way. This was for Honey!

Nothing except for a red light. He stopped at the crosswalk just as the streetlight changed, watching with a sinking heart as the traffic zoomed in front of him and the bus began moving out of sight.

Mori was dumbstruck and nearly heartbroken. He used the break to catch his breath, but his mind reached out for ideas on his next move.

"Hey, Mori-San. You look kinda frazzled."

Daisuke's voice sent the first wave of hope his way. He turned on his toes to see his friend and two companions: Anna, complete with tiara, and a woman with the same red hair as Daisuke. "I need to get to the airport. Mitzukuni is there." He answered swiftly.

Daisuke's eyes rested on the red-haired woman. "Do I look like I'm holding the keys to a fucking racecar, Onii-San?" She said, crossing her arms.

"I dunno, Hana, you're always the one with the connections." He answered, scratching the back of his head.

"No, _I_ am." Anna corrected, showing all the charm and courtesy of actual royalty. She looked around, as if their answer would appear before her, and gained the slightest sparkle in her eyes as they rested on a bald-headed man on a motorcycle.

By now, another green light had come and gone, and Mori and the red-haired siblings watched as Anna calmly walked into the center of the street. The bald-headed man on the motorcycle turned and narrowed his eyes at her. At catching a glimpse of his face, Mori recognized him instantly.

Acting on instinct, he rushed forward to stop Anna. The only thing that stopped him two paces before crashing into the bike was the fact that she didn't even blink at the sight of Yoshi's hostile face.

Mori had no doubt that the bar fight had left a wedge between their relationship, yet Anna spoke as if they were old friends. "Sweetheart, I know how you feel about Mori here, but would you mind giving him a lift? He's in a real tight spot and he needs to get to the airport."

Yoshi's eyes travelled to Mori, who met him with an equally strong gaze. "It's Mitzukuni. I have to stop him before he leaves."

He was met with a stare.

He clenched his fist. First, the bastard had tried to seduce Honey, now he couldn't even respect him enough to speak to him? What the hell?

But … acting rashly would only hinder his progress. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Please … It's my last chance to make everything up to him."

"Yeah, alright." He said.

Mori looked at Yoshi like he'd just seen a lizard pop out of the man's eyeball.

"Well? What're you waiting for? Hop on!"

* * *

A picture of Honey kissing Mori's cheek was clutched between his fingers. The torn edges of the photo booth picture dissolved with a single tear.

Honey sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. After a night of waiting, it was obvious that Mori no longer wanted him. He just wished he could have said goodbye. Anything would have been better than staying up all night waiting for a hero that would never come.

He stared out the window and heaved a sigh. Well, nothing would change it now. Nothing left to do but stare at the buildings passing. With each that passed, he felt his eyes grow heavier, until he finally decided to lay his head on the seat next to him and rest.

* * *

"You see him?" Yukio shouted above the wind whipping in their ears.

Mori shook his head. Though, admittedly, it was hard to get a good look through the windows while he was clinging to Yoshi's back.

He felt his heart stop along with the motorcycle's when a car cut in front of them, preventing them from catching the next green light. For the second time, Mori watched the bus pull further away.

"Even more bad news." Yoshi grunted, eyes fixated on his rearview mirror and the flashing police lights reflecting in it, "I _was_ speeding."

"Mori-Senpai!"

Mori turned at the familiar voice and displayed on of his larger (though still subtle) smiles at the sight of Haruhi. Her t-shirt and hair flowed in the wind as she leaned out of the backseat convertible car. Hikaru reclined in the leather seats behind her and, sporting the same cheesy sunglasses as his twin, Kaoru was at the wheel.

Without missing a beat, Mori jumped off the motorcycle and ran to the car. "It's Honey. I need to go to the airport."

"Say no more. Hop in." Kaoru sighed.

Mori jumped over the door right into the passenger's seat. He could have jumped over a building if it meant getting to Honey. No sooner did he fasten his seatbelt than did the light turn green. Yukio shouting, "Good luck!" was just barely heard over the sound of the tires screeching.

"Hey, this is a rental!" Haruhi shouted. As usual, though, the twins ignored her. Kaoru continued to drive recklessly while Hikaru took out his cell phone.

"I'm going to call the others. There's nothing the Boss and Kyoya can't do when they work together." Hikaru said.

"Alright, you take care of that." Kaoru replied without taking his eyes off the road, "Don't worry, Mori, we'll make it."

* * *

A zombie version of Honey stepped off the bus and dragged his duffle bag and backpack into the airport. A pair of buff, uniformed men approached him and bowed respectfully. "Welcome, Haninozuka-San. Your father asked us to escort you." One of them said.

"Of course he did." Honey mumbled, "Could you take my luggage?"

"Right away, Haninozuka-san."

He dragged his feet past the doors and across the airport floor. His eyes remained fixated on the shine of the tiles until his line of vision was interrupted by a black boot stepping in front of him.

He raised an eyebrow and looked up at the person attached to the foot. A police officer bearing a specially-issue uniform stared back at him.

Three feet away, a man at the front counter gave an indignant scoff and marched right up to one of the officers. "What's the meaning of this? You can't do this, you're delaying the entire airport!"

It was at that moment that Honey chose to look around and saw four great walls of police officers surrounding the entryway, boxing him and several of the other patrons inside.

"Ootori Police Force, special order." The police officer grunted and handed the man a piece of paper, "We have permission to be here from the CEO of your company."

Honey wasn't known for impatience. If anything, he was known for finding ways to entertain himself before impatience could even set in. He was the Boy Lolita after all, preferring a nice tea party or a nap above the trivial things in this world that usually cause impatience. However, Honey was also known for wanting things _his_ way. He wasn't a brat by any means, he just couldn't stand it when something that _shouldn't be there_ was there. And he especially couldn't stand it when something was blocking him from leaving Japan and putting this entire mess behind him! He could already feel the distaste and frustration rising in his throat, about to form into words when he heard his name shouted from behind him.

"Honey-Senpai!" Was followed immediately by a classic "tackle-and-fall-over" routine performed by none other than Tamaki Suoh. The former Host King latched himself onto Honey as if the ground would fall from beneath him if he let go.

Honey didn't need to see Tamaki to recognize his voice, but that didn't stop him from turning and staring at his friend in shock. "Tama-Chan?"

"Honey-Senpai, you can't leave! It would be a horrible ending!" Tamaki protested.

"As much as I agree, Tamaki, that doesn't give you the right to tackle him." A familiar voice spoke as it stepped over, casting a shadow over the two of them. Honey looked up at Kyoya, then back to Tamaki, still clueless as to what was going on.

"Kyo-Chan? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Tamaki stood up, dusted himself off, and simply said, "We were told to delay you."

Honey's blood boiled. He stood up, face twisted into a rage and ready to throw a tantrum or pick a fight, whichever one played out. "Delay me for _what_?" He began, ready to give Tamaki and Kyoya the earful of a lifetime, when a figure standing in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

His expression deleted itself as soon as he figured out that he wasn't sure what he was feeling. His head swiveled to confirm his suspicions: a slumped-over, panting Mori stood at the entrance to the airport gate. For the two of them, time stood still, waiting for a reaction.

Mori looked as though he wouldn't be standing if not for the door frame holding him up. Despite this, he took a slow step forward … followed by another …

With tears trailing behind him, Honey all but flew into Mori's arms.

The tender embrace wasn't interrupted by the curious murmurs in the airport's crowd. It wasn't broken up by the policemen leaving or the sight of a mother ushering her child away, nor was it interrupted by the giggling teenagers on the sidelines or the confused looks of Honey's escorts.

By the time they stopped hugging, none of that mattered anymore.

"I love you, Mitzukuni. I'm sorry."

"I love you, too."

Without missing a beat, Honey went from tender boyfriend to cheerful cowboy as he jumped onto Mori's back and spread a 1,000-watt grin across his face.

One of his escorts stepped in to object, "Haninozuka-San, where are you going? What should we tell your father?"

Honey had to think about that one. It wouldn't exactly reflect well on him, would it? And his father still liked to bring up his obsession over toys and cute things during conversation. However, he'd done lot of things to wiggle out from under from his father's ruling thumb, and one more item on the "unmanly" checklist wasn't going to completely discredit him. So he gave the man the only answer that would fit.

"Tell him I'll call him." And with that, proudly rode piggyback out of the airport.


End file.
